


Summer of Love

by xXdreameaterXx



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: 1960s, Alternate Universe - 1960s, Alternate Universe - Hippies, F/M, Hippies, Recreational Drug Use, Sexual Experimentation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-05-28 21:13:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 35
Words: 50,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6345379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xXdreameaterXx/pseuds/xXdreameaterXx
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>San Francisco. 1967. The Doctor is an eco activist known to chain himself to whatever is necessary out of protest. Clara is a young woman from a rich entrepreneur family that she is trying to escape, so she decides to move into a commune. And she chooses the man that would annoy her parents the most – but can their love last longer than the summer?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Clara wasn't exactly sure if she was reading the map right, because according to that she had found the house she had been looking for, but when she looked up she spotted a _mansion_. That couldn't be right. Not for the price of the room she wanted to rent. Unless of course half a mansion in America came at the price of a small room in the UK. This house however was as big as her parents' home and Clara had a vague idea about what that must have cost.  
“Hey, are you Clara Oswald or are you just impressed with the building?” a male voice with a Scottish accent said and it sounded familiar to her. That was the man she had corresponded with, the Doctor.  
She searched the garden for him and eventually spotted him kneeling in front of a vegetable patch in the front yard. A vegetable patch in the front yard? That seemed odd.  
“Yes, that's me, Clara Oswald,” she introduced herself.  
“Come on in,” the Doctor told her, “The gate is unlocked.”  
Reluctantly she stepped through the gate and into the garden, a shy smile on her lips as she approached the man. She knew nothing about him except that he had a room to rent and he had come here from Scotland about 10 years ago and now that she looked at him she wasn't exactly sure if he would be the right flatmate for her after all. He was in his 50s, had an absolute mess of grey curls on top of his head and a beard that she would have loved to take a razor to. And he also wasn't wearing shoes.  
“I suppose you want to see the inside of the house and your room, right?” he rose from the dirty patch of ground and dusted himself off, although that hardly did any good at all.

“Doctor!” suddenly Clara turned around to see a young girl race across the lawn. She must have been around 5 or 6 years old, “Doctor! The arm came off again!”  
The girl stopped in front of the Doctor and held a doll in his direction. Clara could immediately see what the problem was when the girl also handed him the detached arm.  
“Ohhhh, poor thing,” the Doctor replied and swept the girl up in his arms, “I'll fix it in a moment, okay? I want to show Clara her room first. She's thinking about moving in with us.”  
The girl turned her head towards Clara as they started walking in the direction of the house and smiled. “You're pretty!”  
“Thank you,” Clara giggled softly, “You are very pretty, too.”  
Suddenly the Doctor began to laugh. “And what about me, Melody? Am I pretty?”  
Clara guessed that behind the beard he wasn't bad, if a little eccentric looking, but the girl obviously didn't agree.  
“Men can't be pretty,” she argued.  
“That's the spirit, sweetheart,” he laughed.  
Then Clara turned to face the Doctor. “You didn't mention on the phone that you had a daughter.”  
“I don't. This little sweetheart is Amy's and Rory's daughter Melody. If you've got a bit of time, you can meet them. They should get home from work in about an hour,” the Doctor explained.  
“Wait,” she felt a little confused, “They live here, too?”  
“Of course,” the Doctor replied with a smile as if it should have been obvious, “We're sort of a commune. Didn't I mention that on the phone?”  
“A _commune?_ ”  
Clara had heard of those. There was a famous one in Berlin constantly making the news at the moment and the thought about it almost made her turn around and run in the opposite direction. She wanted to distance herself from her parents and find her own way through life, but she wasn't keen on trouble like that.  
“Don't worry,” the Doctor said, “We're not freaks like those in Berlin. Well, not all of us anyway. We bought this house together before they could sell it to a company that had planned to tear it down and build a shopping centre in this area. They would have paved the entire thing, along with the lake, the fields and the forest behind this house. Now they can't.”  
“So, you're all eco activists?” Clara asked. She had to admit her initial thought had been worse but what the Doctor was telling her actually didn't sound too bad. At least they were doing something for the environment. As long as they weren't too radical.  
“Sort of,” the Doctor smiled at her, “We've been living together in this house for almost 10 years now and it's become a bit like a family. We share the living room, kitchen and the bathrooms but you'd have your own room and if you don't bother us we won't bother you. We don't expect you to decide right away. Check out your room, meet everyone, think about it.”

When Clara stepped inside she knew she kind of wanted to move in on the spot. It had a cosy hippie vibe to it that was absolutely modern and fresh and the whole place seemed to smell like incense. And the best thing about it: her parents would lose it if they found out she was living with hippies and if it was truly as familiar as the Doctor made it sound, she had definitely come to the right place. She had moved to America only recently, or fled more like it, leaving behind everything and everyone for a fresh start. And this was looking like a pretty nice place for a new beginning.  
The Doctor set Melody down, who immediately darted off and up the stairs, and led her through a simple corridor and started pointing at several doors leading away from it.  
“This is the downstairs bathroom, the bigger one with a bathtub. We don't have a schedule for it since we all have a different routine and there has never been any problem. There's another, small bathroom upstairs and one next to my office if it's an emergency,” he explained.  
“Your office?” Clara asked him, intrigued as to what his work was.  
“I have a medical practice in the other wing of the house, just through the side entrance. I work with natural remedies only,” he said, turning back around to face her and he seemed startled by the distrustful look on her face, “I'm not a charlatan. I believe that a lot of simple illnesses can be cured using herbs and other remedies provided by nature. Not all, of course. If I know I can't help them, I send them straight to the hospital. I have a medical degree if you want to see it.”  
Suddenly Clara started to laugh. “It's okay. You don't have to justify what you do.”  
“Really?” the Doctor raised an eyebrow, “Cause I'm getting the feeling that you're judging me.”  
“I'm not,” she replied with a smile, “It's just. . . new to me. That's all. Let's continue the tour.”  
The Doctor cleared his throat and moved along, pointing at another door leading away from the corridor. He told her that a woman called Martha lived in there. Martha had lost her husband in Vietnam a few years ago and had moved in with them right afterwards, having given her son away to be raised by her parents while she pursued a medical career, which she was now able to do after the Civil Rights Act had been passed three years ago.  
He opened the doors to a wide living room that Clara wanted to settle in immediately. It was filled with plants and books and the large sofas and carpets gave it a really cosy, homely atmosphere. There was a small fireplace that looked just as inviting to her and the Doctor explained that they often gathered here after work to chat or for an occasional game night. In her head she was already making herself comfortable on the carpet in front of the fire with a cup of tea and a good book.  
When the Doctor moved on she followed him into the next room that was clearly used both as kitchen and dining room. It was clean and Clara would have enough space to make her beloved soufflés.  
The Doctor placed the kettle on the oven and looked at her expectantly. “What do you think so far?”  
She smiled. “I think your house is amazing. Where would my room be?”  
“Follow me,” he told her and headed all the way back to the corridor before leading her up the stairs and once they had reached the upper floor she noticed two corridors leading away from where she was standing.  
“The corridor to your left is where Amy and Rory live with Melody. They probably won't mind showing you once they're at home. We gave them some more room for their family business. This is the second bathroom I was telling you about,” he pointed at another door which he passed in his stride, “And this would be yours.”  
He opened the door to a large, bright room and Clara was instantly taken, like she had been with the rest of the house. Like the downstairs living room the floor was lined with all sorts of different carpets and one wall was entirely covered in a painting of a huge mandala. There was a large bed, a desk, some shelves and a spacious wardrobe, everything she needed.  
“You can redecorate it any way you like,” the Doctor told her while she made her way to the window, “And if you need any kind of handiwork done, I can help you with it.”  
“I love it,” Clara replied excitedly and looked out, realizing that what she saw were probably the gardens and. behind them, a lake. Then something else caught her eye. “Are those chickens?!”  
The Doctor chuckled. “Yeah, I forgot to mention. You don't have to worry about them but you'll always have fresh eggs. When it comes to the rest of the groceries we write a list and take turns every week.”  
Clara turned around, smiling at him. She had made up her mind. This was definitely a place she wanted to live in if the others proved to be as nice as the Doctor.  
“Do you want to see the library?”  
She cocked her eyebrows at him, her smile turning into beaming. “The library?”

As it turned out, the library was another room the size of the living room and it was filled with books to the brim – and it was right across the hall from her room. The centre of it was taken up by a comfortable looking arrangement of chairs, sofas and a coffee table. And there were enough books to read for a lifetime.  
Apparently the Doctor had been able to read the look on her face because he soon smiled at her.  
“When do you want to get your things?” he asked, “I could help with the move and Rory probably wouldn't mind either.”  
As lovely as the thought of moving in immediately sounded to her, suddenly a surge of doubt rose up inside her. Clara wanted this. She wanted to move in. It seemed almost too good to be true. But would the others think the same? They were hippies, free spirits, adventurers and she was anything but. Clara came from a very rich family, had been pampered all of her life and there was more than enough money in her trust fund to buy this entire house at least three times. Her parents had paid for everything she had wanted and more, all of her belongings, her education, . . . her wedding. Would these people even want her to move in if they knew?  
“Clara?” the Doctor's voice tore her from her thoughts and she looked up at him, smiling sheepishly.  
“Shouldn't I meet the others first?”  
The Doctor smiled back. “Of course.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for the first comments :)
> 
> Twelvebosswald: Yes, there was a very famous commune in West Berlin from 1967 til 69 called "Kommune 1" whose tenants were very radical politically. The most famous tenants probably being Rainer Langhans and Uschi Obermeier. They made a movie about her life about 10 years ago called "Eight Miles High". I have no intentions of making the commune in this fic as radical though, it was just meant to serve as an example of what Clara thought the Doctor and his friends were like when she heard the word "commune".

After showing her his own room at the end of the corridor, which Clara found a little too messy for her own taste – an opinion she thought she'd better keep to herself – the Doctor led her back downstairs while telling her a little more about Amy, who worked as a journalist, and her husband Rory, a nurse at the local hospital. From the Doctor's description they all sounded so nice and Clara hoped that they would prove to be when she met them later today.  
“And you watch Melody for them while they're at work?” Clara asked curiously when they were back in the kitchen and the Doctor immediately started to prepare them both a cup of tea.  
“Oh,” he said while he poured the boiling water into the mugs, “No, not usually. Melody caught chicken pox and wasn't allowed to go to kindergarten, but I think she's healthy enough to go back tomorrow. She had me fixing all of her toys the past few days.”  
The Doctor chuckled as he handed her the cup and Clara smiled thankfully. She couldn't help but love the idea of this little community, which seemed less of an actual commune and more like a family to her from what the Doctor was telling her. To be honest, it had seemed strange at first, but she was beginning to embrace the concept and for Clara it would be the perfect opportunity to make friends in a strange country where she so far knew only one person.  
“And Martha's boy, does he visit?” she asked him before blowing on her tea to cool it down.  
He took a deep breath. “Occasionally, yes. Martha's parents don't really approve of this way of life. They'd rather she moved in with them, but they live in the countryside, far away from Martha's work and school. The loss of her husband Mickey thwarted the plans they had made together.”  
“I can imagine,” she replied, not knowing what else to say. The war in Vietnam had been going on for over 10 years as far as Clara knew through the news in the United Kingdom. But she had barely been a teenager when it had started and she hadn't really paid a lot of attention to the coverage at all.  
“So, what do you do? For a living, I mean,” the Doctor asked and before Clara could answer, they could hear the front door open and a few moments later a woman stepped into the kitchen that Clara knew had to be Martha. When she spotted her, Martha gave her a friendly, if somewhat tired smile.  
“Hello,” Clara greeted her sheepishly, “I'm Clara. Clara Oswald.”  
She held out her hand and Martha shook it. “I'm Martha Jones, but the Doctor has probably already mentioned that. I take it you were the one that called about the room?”  
“If you'll have me,” she smiled, sounding a lot more insecure than she would have thought.  
“Oh, don't worry about me. I'll leave that to the Doctor – he picked me, so he's got a good taste in roommates.”  
Martha laughed and so did Clara after a moment.  
“Well, you're gonna meet Amy and Rory soon enough. I, unfortunately, have to study now. Big test tomorrow.”  
“Good luck,” the Doctor wished her before Martha grabbed her own mug, filled it with tea and headed in the direction of her room. 

After Martha had retreated to her own room, the Doctor led Clara through a back door out of the kitchen and into the garden. It was as beautiful as the rest of the house with a small porch, a spot for open fire, several more vegetable patches and the lake visible just a short walk ahead. She could hear the chickens cluck not far away. It was so peaceful and quiet that Clara could hardly believe they were right next to the city of San Francisco.  
“What brings an English lass like you to the States?” the Doctor asked, sinking down into one of the porch chairs and Clara followed his example.  
“What brings a Scotsman to San Francisco?” she giggled, but decided to tell him at least part of the truth, “I needed a change. I broke up with my fiancé and I just needed to get out of the UK. Somewhere nice. Somewhere warmer with less rain. I knew that a friend from school lived here, that's where I'm staying right now, but her flat is pretty small.”  
“I think you'll start to miss the rain after a while,” the Doctor chuckled, “But my story is pretty similar to yours. My marriage failed, my job at the hospital was beginning to bore me, so I packed my things and moved here for a fresh start. Amy and Rory are from the UK as well, by the way. They were travelling together after school and decided to stay. Martha is the only one who was born here.”  
“So it's like a small UK in the middle of San Francisco,” Clara joked.  
“You could say that.”

The kitchen door opened and Clara looked up to see a bright looking woman step outside. She had long, flowing, red hair and wore a flowery skirt and her presence immediately lightened up the entire yard. Behind her she also spotted a young man who seemed a little shy and Clara just knew that those two had to be Amy and Rory. The last one to step through the door was their daughter Melody, holding her father's hand – and the broken doll in her other. The Doctor immediately apologized for forgetting about it and sat down, trying to get the arm to stick to the doll's body again while Clara, Amy and Rory introduced themselves.  
“I assume the Doctor has already told you everything about us,” Amy said in a Scottish accent heavier than that of the Doctor's.  
“Almost,” Clara giggled.  
“What about you? What do you do for a living?” Amy asked, “Just making sure you're not working for one of those companies that I uncovered with my article last week, the ones that drop their waste into the ocean.”  
“No, absolutely not,” Clara replied, “I'm still looking for a job. I've got a degree in English, I'm not sure what you can do with that around here.”  
“You could work as a teacher,” Rory suggested, the first thing he said since his short hello. Clara imagined he didn't have a lot to say around Amy.  
Clara had actually considered becoming a teacher, back home, before her wedding that never took place. Now she wasn't so sure about it anymore.  
“Where did you go to college?” the Doctor asked, looking up from fixing the doll while Melody threw him an impatient glance.  
Clara cleared her throat. Her entire education just screamed 'entitled, rich brat', from the expensive boarding school for girls to Oxford, yet these people in front of her were definitely all part of the working class and always had been, except for the Doctor, maybe, who had somehow managed to go to medical school, so Clara only mumbled her reply.  
“Excuse me, did you say _Oxford_?” Amy gasped, “Wow, you must be really smart to get a scholarship there.”  
Clara smiled and looked down at her feet. She couldn't tell them the thruth, they'd never consider letting her live with them – and that was what she truly wanted.  
“Sometimes they give scholarships to not so smart people, too. Look at me,” the Doctor joked, “But that was only Glasgow, not Oxford.”  
“Alright, Clara Oswald,” Amy grinned at her, “You seem like a decent person. Do you think you'll be able to handle a bunch of crazy people like us?”  
Clara looked back up at Amy, who was grinning broadly, and she knew that she had done it. She had convinced them. This house was to be her new home.  
“Just,” Amy said and hesitated, “Whatever you do, don't go into the basement.”  
Clara gave a laugh, but after a moment it struck her as odd. “Why, what is in the basement?” she asked and could hear the Doctor groan next to her.  
“The basement is where the Doctor is conducting his horrible experiments,” Rory added.  
“What?”  
“They're messing with you,” the Doctor told her calmly and when she saw Amy and Rory howl with laughter, she knew it was the truth.  
“So, what's really in the basement?” Clara wanted to know.  
“The basement is where I play the guitar. Melody likes it,” he explained and stared at his feet, suddenly seeming a little insecure. Melody, next to him, nodded frantically.  
That made Amy laugh a little more. “Melody is five. She likes it when you make a drum set out of pots and sticks.”  
“Well,” Clara said, trying to make the Doctor feel better, “I'd love to give it a listen.”  
Finally he glanced up from his bare feet again and smiled at her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the sweet comments and making my day *-*

Clara woke up, feeling still tired, but at the same time extremely happy. She had gotten home very late last night after sitting outside by the fire with the Doctor, Amy, Rory and eventually even Martha. They had talked and laughed and Clara just knew that she was doing the right thing moving in with the lot of them. In fact, she would be moving in with them on this very day.  
Quickly she threw the covers aside and got up from the sofa she had been sleeping on for the past few weeks since Clara had arrived in San Francisco and she couldn't wait to finally sleep in a normal bed again, in her own room. After having a wash Clara immediately began packing up the few things she had brought with her on the flight to America. Some of her belongings had already been shipped here and had arrived just a few days ago after a long phone call with her parents and Clara informing them of her decision to stay. There were currently several boxes filled with books and clothes blocking her friend's entire basement and the Doctor and Rory would come to pick them – and herself – up in the afternoon with a borrowed truck. 

“I'm going to miss you,” her friend Nina confessed and hugged Clara tightly when she had finally finished packing every single item into her suitcase with a lot of distractions provided by her friend.  
“I'm still in the same city,” Clara said, “I'll visit and you can visit me, too. Just – if my parents call, don't give them my address.”  
Nina let go of her and looked straight at Clara, her eyes more than a little suspicious. “You'll have to tell them eventually.”  
“Oh, I will. I just don't want them to freak out right away. I told them to send the rest of my stuff here a few days ago. Just let me know when it arrives and I'll come and pick it up.”  
“Clara, it can't possibly be that bad,” her friend said, eyeing her closely. They had gone to boarding school together for so many years that they knew each other too well.  
“It's not bad,” she replied defensively, “My parents would love the house. If I lived there with one man. Who was my husband. And not with a bunch of hippies and chickens.”  
“ _Chickens?_ ”

A knock on the door kept Clara from having to answer Nina's last question and she checked her watch. It was only 3 pm and still too early for the Doctor and Rory to show up. His shift at the hospital ended at 5. Curiously Clara went to open the door, just to look straight into the Doctor's clean shaven face.  
“You're early,” she blurted out. Even though she had already finished packing, Clara had assumed she would still have time for a cup of tea with her friend.  
“Rory called my office. He's working overtime, so I came to see if I could help you with the packing,” the Doctor confessed with a smile.  
“That's very sweet of you. I'm done with the packing. The problem is the boxes filled with books and clothes in the basement. They're too heavy.”  
“I think I can manage,” he said and straightened his back. He had worn long sleeves the day before, but now, under his plain, white t-shirt, Clara could see that his body was clearly well toned for his age and, to be fair, his thighs looked quite fine in jeans as well. “Can I park right in front of the house?”  
His question tore her from her observations and luckily for Clara, Nina was quick to answer. “Of course, it should be fine for an hour.”  
“Great, I'll be right back,” the Doctor said, smiling again.  
“We'll meet you downstairs,” Clara promised before he turned around and headed back down the stairs, but not without Clara taking a good, long look at what his bum looked like in those jeans.  
“Nice,” Nina commented with a smile, leaning back against the wall.  
“What do you mean?”  
“Your flatmate,” her friend nodded in the direction of the stairs, “He's quite handsome. For a man in his 50s.”  
Clara considered her response for a moment. “I'm not really into older men,” she said, but she had to admit that the Doctor really was handsome now that he was clean shaven, his lovely, silver hair and his bum being right on top of her list of things she liked about him. Her former boarding school teachers would have scolded her for even thinking such a thing. 

Armed with the key to her friend's basement, Clara followed the Doctor downstairs after a few minutes and found him already waiting by the basement door. He was leaning casually against it, his arms crossed and his gaze lost in the distance somewhere. Maybe Nina was right. At least Clara found him a lot more attractive now than the day before when he had worn a beard, dirty clothes fit for nothing but garden work and no shoes.  
Quickly she unlocked the basement door and led the Doctor inside, switching on the light to illuminate the small room holding no less then 15 boxes.  
“Wow,” the Doctor gasped once he looked at them, “Are those all clothes?”  
“Just five of them,” Clara explained and sighed, “Sorry, my stepmother packed them up. She's a bit. . . fastidious. Sorted them all after dresses, skirts, shirts, well, you can tell by the labels.”  
He chuckled, pointing at the box labelled _'undergarments'_. “I supposed that should be light enough to carry yourself,” he suggested and Clara couldn't help but blush a little. She made a mental note to get back at her stepmother for that somehow. The Doctor walked towards a large box that had the word _'biographies'_ written on it. “We've got some free shelves in the library. You can put them all there if you don't mind the others borrowing your books to read.”  
“Not at all,” she said, grabbing the box with her underwear and headed out to the car with the Doctor trailing after her.  
It didn't take them long to load the truck and Clara noticed that her earlier suspicion had been correct. The Doctor was quite well built underneath that shirt, which she saw once it was drenched in sweat from the local summer heat and the exercise. His strong arms lifted the last box and placed it on the back of the truck before he exhaled sharply and ran his fingers through his damp hair. Something about the sight made her insides tingle with a strange feeling.  
“See, told you I could manage,” the Doctor grinned and winked at her.  
Clara bit down on her lip, trying to suppress a smile. “Never doubted you,” she replied, “I'll give Nina her key back and grab my suitcase. I'll be back in a few minutes.”

A quick farewell to her friend later Clara was back downstairs and closed the door of the car behind her as she sat down next to the Doctor, ready to drive. . . _home_. Her new home. Living the the Doctor, Amy, Rory and Martha – and a handful of chickens. Clara couldn't help but smile when the Doctor started the engine and she glanced at him. As she inhaled his scent she thought that it had suddenly gotten a lot hotter inside the car and somehow she started to wonder if this could possibly turn out well. She wasn't even living with him yet and the Doctor's presence was already stirring the weirdest feelings inside of her that she couldn't quite place. When he smiled at her, however, and set the car into motion, Clara brushed the thought aside. He was a nice man and he would be a lovely flatmate – nothing more and nothing less.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments :) Yesterday I gave you sweaty Doctor - how about a shirtless Doctor now? (And a lil teaser: tomorrow it gets even better than this)

The Doctor parked the car in the driveway in front of the house and turned around to smile in Clara's direction. Hesitantly she smiled back. There was something about her that had made the Doctor take an instant liking to her and he had been hoping she would move in with them after talking to her for less than five minutes. Maybe it was because he still felt like a stranger in a strange land at times, even though he had already spent 10 years in the United States and he genuinely liked it here, but having people like Amy or Rory or even Clara around made him feel like he had a little piece of home right with him at all times. Not that the Doctor missed his home very much, no, he was quite comfortable in his life here, yet sometimes nostalgia did catch up with him.  
Or maybe the Doctor just had a weakness for a pretty face. Clara really was extraordinarily pretty, especially when she smiled. A part of him hadn't wanted to let her go the previous evening while he had stolen a few glances at her through the fire. She hadn't noticed, luckily for him. And now the Doctor would be able to look at her every single day, a thought that probably made him happier than it should.  
“We should probably unload the car, too,” he suggested after a moment and opened the door to bring the boxes up to her room and the library.  
While Clara immediately grabbed one of the lighter boxes the Doctor suddenly got an idea and stacked two of the boxes filled with books on top of each other. They'd be done with it much faster this way.  
“Are you sure that's a good idea?” Clara stepped into his field of vision, knitting her eyebrows at him. Somehow her doubts made him all the more determined to prove to her that he could do it. Maybe he even wanted to impress her.  
“Of course,” he said and lifted the boxes with a start when suddenly a sharp pain shot through his lower back and the Doctor yelped. Next to him Clara Oswald started to laugh and and he only made a grimace in reply.  
“Sorry,” she apologized quickly, “Sorry. Didn't mean to laugh at you. Are you okay?”  
Slowly the Doctor tried to straighten his back, the pain getting worse while he moved, and he concluded that he had probably just pulled a muscle. It would be alright tomorrow, but right now it felt like someone had let hell loose on his back.  
“Come on,” Clara prompted him when he didn't reply and picked up her box again, “Let's go inside where you can sit down.”

Slowly and limping the Doctor followed Clara to the house and, once inside, he immediately sank down on the sofa, wincing as he did. Clara set the box down next to him and eyed him carefully.  
“I'm sorry,” he apologized, his voice strained in pain as he carefully leaned back, “I'm afraid we'll have to wait now until Rory gets home.”  
Still Clara remained looking at him as if uncertain of what to do next. “Is there something I can do for you? Get you a painkiller or something like that?”  
The Doctor inhaled sharply. Even breathing hurt him. Then he shook his head. “No, not really,” he paused, “Well, there's a tube of camphor balm in the bathroom, behind the mirror.”  
Clara smiled at him. “Give me a minute,” she replied and disappeared through the door, only to emerge a short while later, turning the tube over in her hands.  
“Oh, yes, that's the one. Thank you,” he stretched out his hand to take it from her, but for some reason Clara held it back. And she was giving him that look again, this doubtful look like the one the Doctor had seen on her face right before he had tried lifting the boxes.  
“And you're gonna apply this to your back how? You can hardly move.”  
The Doctor hadn't really thought about that part yet, but luckily Clara provided him with a solution.  
“Take off your shirt, I'll do it,” she said brusquely as she knelt down next to the sofa.  
Not feeling like protesting her orders, the Doctor carefully reached for the hem of his t-shirt and winced again at the movement. Clara, who had noticed his struggle, came to his aid again, lifting the fabric over his head and the Doctor couldn't be sure but he thought that for a brief moment he saw a smirk cross over her face.  
He didn't really have time to confirm his observation when Clara gestured for him to lie down on his stomach. As soon as he had found a comfortable position, he could feel Clara's gentle touch on his skin and the smell of camphor filled his nose.  
“Ew,” Clara blurted out and the Doctor could imagine only too well what kind of face she was pulling behind his back.  
“Yeah,” he confirmed, “I know, but it works.”  
“It better. Where exactly does it hurt?” she asked him.  
“Left side, lower back,” he couldn't help but wince again when her hands touched the sour spot.  
“Sorry,” she mumbled, “Do you want me to stop?”  
If it hadn't been for the pain the Doctor would have laughed out loud. A young, beautiful woman was massaging his back and she thought he wanted her to stop when he wanted her to do anything but. He'd be a liar if he said he didn't enjoy it at least a little.  
“No, it's alright. You're very good at this,” he replied when Clara gently kneaded the balm into his skin. The Doctor closed his eyes and he thought he heard her chuckle at his compliment.  
Clara's touch was so light and gentle when she moved her hands to his lower back, massaging the base of his spine, that the Doctor let out a soft groan. He should probably tell her that that wasn't where it hurt. In a minute. It was okay to just enjoy it for a moment.  
“Do you work out?” Clara asked him curiously, running her hands up his back and over his shoulder blades. He didn't want to talk, he just wanted to feel. Feel her warm hands caress his back and enjoy the sensation. It almost made him forget about the pain.  
“I swim,” he replied eventually, “In the lake. Every morning.”  
“Must be nice,” she commented and the Doctor answered with a soft moan as her hands trailed back down. He should really tell her to stop, especially because her gentle touch was beginning to rouse not only the muscles in his back, but other areas of his body as well that Clara would surely not appreciate waking up by accident.  
The Doctor cleared his throat. “Thank you. That was very nice of you to help.”  
Suddenly her hands were gone. “Well, you helped with the move. It was the least I could do,” she replied and he felt the couch next to him sink where Clara sat down.  
He scrambled into a sitting position as well and reached for the nearest blanket, throwing it across his shoulders to keep his back warm – and to cover up his crotch as well.  
“Thanks, I suppose it'll be better tomorrow, but for now I think you'll have to wait for Rory.”  
Clara smiled at him, a warm, sincere smile. She really was pretty like that. “That's okay. My clothes and books will survive a few more hours in their boxes. You stay here, I'll carry up what I can and don't you dare move from that spot,” Clara warned him as she rose from the couch and went to pick up the box she had already carried inside.  
“Yes. Boss,” the Doctor grumbled. Maybe he hadn't managed to impress, her but at least she liked him a little. And maybe he liked her a little too much already.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your sweet comments AND I AM SO SORRY! I got confused! The thing that is better than shirtless Doctor happens in tomorrow's chapter, not today's. I hope you can forgive me for the confusion.

Amy came rushing through the door, holding Melody's hand, and the girl seemed quite happy about her first day back at kindergarten.  
“Hey, how did it go?” the Doctor called from the sofa, “Did you give the other kids the rest of your chicken pox?”  
Melody laughed at his comment. “Nooooo,” she denied, “The chicken pox are gone. That's what _you_ said.”  
“Yeah,” he smiled, “I said that.”  
When Melody hurried off into the kitchen, the Doctor found himself under Amy's investigating gaze. “What are you doing down here?” she asked, lifting his t-shirt from the other end of the sofa with her index finger, “With your shirt off? Casual Wednesday?”  
The Doctor snatched the fabric from her hands and growled. “Pulled a muscle in my back. Don't ask.”  
At that precise moment Clara came skipping down the stairs and seconds later she peeked through the crack in the door, a broad smile on her face.  
“Oh, hi Amy, I thought I heard voices,” Clara greeted her happily.  
“Hey, new flatmate,” Amy waved back at her.  
“One last box of clothes and then I'm all done. The rest are books,” she explained with a smile.  
“Oh, Rory can take care of those,” Amy replied, “He should get home any minute.”  
The Doctor was about to open his mouth and say something, but thought better of it. Rory working overtime had been a fib he had come up with, though what exactly his reasons had been the Doctor couldn't tell. Maybe he had wanted to spend some time alone with Clara. Maybe he had been trying to impress her. Maybe he had just wanted to be a helpful new flatmate by showing up early. Anyway, his lies would soon come crumbling down if he started arguing about it.  
“I thought you said he was working overtime today?” Clara asked, raising her eyebrows at the Doctor, but before he or Amy could say another thing, she shrugged and headed back outside to get the last box of clothing.  
The Doctor was ready to take a long breath of relief when Amy turned back around to face him, eyeing him more suspiciously than before.  
“How exactly did you pull your muscle?” she asked him warily.  
He growled in reply. “Stupidity.”  
Amy crossed her arms in front of her chest and chuckled, her eyes never leaving him. “If you want to, I could try to find out if she likes you, too.”  
“You will do no such thing,” the Doctor warned her, raising his index finger, “Clara is a sweet girl. She surely doesn't want someone like me to mess her up.”  
Amy gave a slight shrug before she headed in the direction of the kitchen. “Suit yourself.”  
Right before she left the room the Doctor thought he could hear her giggle. That surely wouldn't be the last time Amy teased him about Clara and he was already dreading what was to come. 

 

* * *

 

When a voice in the back of her head told her that moving into this house with a bunch of strangers might have been a mistake, her first evening proved it wrong. To celebrate Clara moving in and Martha passing her test, Amy decided that she would cook for everyone and soon Clara found herself sitting at the dinner table among everyone else, eating a very delicious lasagne. She noticed that the Doctor was sitting rather stiffly in his chair, even though he swore that the pain had already subsided a little.  
“You know what we should do,” Martha suddenly said after taking a sip from her wine. Everyone looked at her expectantly, “We should have another game night.”  
“Yes!” Melody exclaimed immediately, almost jumping out of her chair as she did.  
Amy swallowed her food. “Great idea. We had the last one when Rose was still living here. About time for another. How does Friday sound to everyone?”  
Curiously Clara looked around the table where everyone nodded at Amy's suggestion. “Who's Rose?” she asked eventually.  
“Uhm, she lived in your room,” the Doctor explained, “Up until five months ago or so.”  
“Why did she move out?” Clara wanted to know, expecting the Doctor to answer her now as well, but he remained silent. Instead it was Martha who spoke.  
“She met someone. Moved back to the UK with him,” Martha told her.  
When Clara glanced at the Doctor, she noticed that he kept his eyes straight on his plate and she made a mental note to ask one of the others about his strange reaction later. 

They all finished their dinner while making small talk about the weather and the house, they explained some of the rules to Clara – even though she didn't think that no loud music while Melody was sleeping, no leaving a mess all over the house, no littering the garden and no pets unless everyone approved were rules that absolutely needed mentioning. The Doctor soon excused himself to treat his back to a hot bath, Amy set out to do the dishes and Clara immediately volunteered to help while the others retreated into the living room.  
Clara dipped her hands into the dishwater and cleared her throat. “So, erm, the Doctor and Rose?”  
Amy giggled. “Quick wit, Clara. You really did deserve that scholarship at Oxford,” she smiled kindly at her before she began to explain, “Yes, the Doctor and Rose had something going on but he's complicated when it comes to relationships and Rose found someone who could give her exactly what she wanted, so she went with him. We were all happy for her.”  
“Except the Doctor?”  
“No, he encouraged her. Still, it's a bit of a sore spot for him. He liked her, he just. . . he's the Doctor,” Amy explained with a sigh and started drying off the first dishes Clara had washed.  
Clara wasn't sure if she understood what had happened between the Doctor and Rose, or why she was even trying to understand. It shouldn't matter, it wasn't like she was actually interested in him in that way, even though being around him felt strange to her. She quite liked the sight of him and touching him earlier, even if it was for medical purposes, had been kind of nice. A part of her hadn't wanted to stop. No, Clara knew what being in love felt like – she had been in love with her former fiancé and it had felt entirely different. She hardly knew the Doctor at all, it was probably nothing more than curiosity about her new flatmate. 

Tired but happy Clara eventually walked upstairs to her own room. For a moment she considered going to the library to sort her books that Rory had brought upstairs earlier into the shelf, but she decided that it could just as well wait until tomorrow, and so could her clothes. She just picked one of her pyjamas from out of the box and put it on before falling down on the soft bed with a sigh, so glad to finally have a bed and a room of her own again. Yes, Clara was positive that she would be very happy here.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all soooooooo much for your comments!!! And now. . . I hope you all have your AC working ;)

Clara woke up when the sun shone right into her face and a look at her alarm clock told her it was only shortly after 7 am. With a squeaking noise she stretched her arms out and made a mental note to remember to close the blinds tonight or she would wake up before the alarm again. Sighing happily, Clara climbed out of bed and opened the first box of clothing she saw before she put on one of her favourite summer dresses. Her stepmother had been clever enough to pack all of her dresses and blouses with the wire hanger included, so Clara wouldn't have to worry about getting new ones. She grabbed a handful of dresses and placed them on the rail inside her wardrobe, but right before she could bend down again to grab more, the rail came off and fell to the floor.  
“Great,” Clara sighed, stepping closer to examine the problem. Apparently the little part that held the rail in place had given way under the weight and needed to be screwed back against the wardrobe wall. She decided that she would ask the Doctor for his help and went downstairs where the kettle was already whistling, but there was no one in sight.  
Stealing enough of the boiling water to fill her own tea cup, she walked outside through the open door, hoping the Doctor would be there but Clara couldn't see him.  
A splashing sound finally made her look further up and she realized that someone was swimming in the lake. Right, the Doctor had mentioned that he went swimming every day and so Clara placed her mug on the garden table and headed towards the lake.

“Good morning, Clara,” the Doctor greeted her happily, swimming in her direction when she had arrived by the water, “How was the first night in your new home?”  
“Slept like a baby,” she replied with a smile.  
The Doctor had obviously reached the shallow part of the water and when he rose to his feet Clara's mouth fell open. The Doctor was stark naked in front of her without the teeniest bit of clothing to cover himself and Clara caught an unshielded view on _everything_. From his wet hair to the water drops glistening on his chest, to the traces of muscle now more visible than the day before and, above all, to his quite large manhood dangling between his thighs. Clara probably looked for a moment longer than she should have and she swallowed hard when he raised his hands to his face to wipe away the remaining water. That strange feeling that Clara had noticed before came back, tingling all over her body, tugging at her abdomen and sending her mind racing before she finally turned around.  
“Sorry,” she mumbled quickly, “I, uhm, I didn't know you were. . . swimming in the nude.”  
The feeling didn't go away however. Instead it settled between her thighs like an annoying itch and Clara wished there was something she could do about it. She tried to drown out her thoughts about the Doctor by conjuring up every memory of every teacher that had ever warned them about sinful thoughts.  
The Doctor laughed behind her and, out of the corner of her eye, she saw that he picked up the towel from out of the sand.  
“I'm sorry if I startled you,” he said, still sounding quite amused, “I always swim in the nude. The others do it, too, so I sometimes forget it's not really common for other people. You can turn around now.”  
Clara took a deep breath and turned to face the Doctor again. He had fastened the towel around his waist, but she could still remember all too vividly what he had looked like without and it made it hard for her to look him in the eyes without blushing.  
“You, uhm, you always swim in the nude? Even in front of Melody?” she asked, unable to think of something else to say and she really needed to say _something_.  
The Doctor shrugged in front of her. “Why not? It's the most natural thing in the world.”  
“I guess,” Clara replied. He was right, it was entirely natural and yet all her life people had been telling her not to wear skirts too short and to cover herself up. Once during her time at boarding school Clara, Nina and a few of their friends had gone skinny dipping and they had all earned a beating with the ruler for indecent behaviour.  
“Was there a reason you were looking for me?” the Doctor asked, tearing Clara out of her memory.  
“Oh, right,” Clara had completely forgotten about it, “The rail in the wardrobe came off. I think it needs to be screwed back on.”  
“Ah, that old thing,” the Doctor said as if he had already suspected something like that, “I'll put some clothes on and meet you in your room.”  
She smiled at him, but then something else came to her mind. “How's your back? I wouldn't want you to strain it too much.”  
“Better,” the Doctor replied with a smile, “Thanks to your care. I'll meet you upstairs in five minutes.”

Like the Doctor had told her to, Clara waited in her room until he showed up – now fully dressed except for his feet that were barefoot as usual whenever he roamed the house and garden. And he had come armed with a toolbox. Without having to explain much the Doctor recognized the problem and swiftly began fastening the rail back on the wardrobe wall with a couple of screws.  
“There,” he said after a while, “That should hold even your large collection of dresses.”  
Clara blushed for a moment. She truly had collected quite a few items of clothing over the years and nice dresses were some sort of guilty pleasure for her. They were the one thing from her old life that she intended to keep.  
“Thanks,” she muttered eventually, sitting down on her bed, “You're all so nice to me. _You_ especially. I don't even know what I did to deserve that.”  
The Doctor turned in her direction and for a moment just looked at her, an odd smile curling around his lips that Clara couldn't quite place. Eventually he gave a light shrug.  
“I told you. We're like a family and,” he paused, “Family looks out for one another.”  
Clara smiled.  
“I have no family left, Amy and Rory left their family behind in the UK and Martha and her parents, well, things are complicated for them. What about you?”  
“I left them behind, too,” Clara admitted, “Willingly. My mother died when I was very little, she was a nurse during the war. The hospital she was working at was hit by bombs. No one survived. I hardly remember her at all.”  
“And your father?” the Doctor asked, leaning back against the wardrobe.  
“He remarried after the war. Linda is nice but she's. . . she was never really interested in me,” she explained and wondered if she should say more, “I guess I came here for something new, something different. Something that's not what my parents would want for me.”  
The Doctor chuckled. “So you left out of protest.”  
“You could say that,” she giggled in reply, “Well, you already know that I had a fiancé, back in the UK, and that I left him. The day before we were supposed to get married.”  
His eyes grew wide all of a sudden and Clara wasn't sure whether the Doctor was about to laugh or scold her for treating a perfectly nice guy the way she had. “I believe you left that part out.”  
“Yeah, well, not my proudest moment,” Clara hesitated, “My parents approved of him. He was nice but. . . not who I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I had planned my escape for quite a while, bought a plane ticket and everything, and I wasn't sure whether I should actually go through with it up until the night before the wedding.”  
“What made you be sure?” the Doctor asked, now seemingly intrigued.  
Clara shrugged. “I wasn't sure. I still don't know what I want, but the last few weeks here have made me realize what I _didn't_ want and that was being his wife.”  
The Doctor pushed himself away from the wardrobe and outstretched his hand for her to take. “Well, you're now part of our family – if you want to be.”  
Clara took his hand and he gently pulled her up into a standing position, his touch leaving the strangest feeling on her skin as he did.  
“How about a nice breakfast before I open my practice?” he suggested.  
Clara smiled at him. “Sounds good.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments :) I figued you'd like naked Doctor XD

The next morning Clara woke up and knew that she had made a decision. If these people had truly accepted her as a part of their family, even though they had only known each other for a few days, she would do the exact same thing. Clara would try her best to fit in, even if it went against everything she had been taught as a child, even if it seemed strange or foreign to her – she owed it to these people, who had immediately accepted her into their home, to at least try. And that was the reason why she had come to America in the first place, right? To find her own way, to distance herself from her parents' views and Clara would never achieve that if she didn't experiment. She already knew what she didn't want and that was the kind of life her parents could provide her with. Now it was about time she tried to figure out what exactly it was that she wanted.  
That was how she found herself getting up at 7 am and walking down to the lake, dressed in nothing but a towel. The Doctor was already in the water and he seemed surprised to see her.  
“Clara,” he blurted out, “Did the rail break off again or why are you down here so early?”  
Clara took a deep breath as he raised his eyebrows at her. It was now or never, but she couldn't help feeling a little nervous about what she was going to do.  
“You were right,” Clara said eventually, “Swimming in the nude is completely natural and shouldn't be a big deal. Yet all my life my teachers and my parents have taught me that it's bad and no one but my husband should ever see me naked. But it's just skin, right?”  
“Right?” the Doctor replied hesitantly, as if he suddenly wasn't so sure himself, or wasn't sure why she was asking at all.  
“Good,” she concluded, sounding a little out of breath because of her nervousness, “And I did come to America to leave that all behind, and that includes their old fashioned views. So. . .”  
Before she could change her mind about it, Clara dropped her towel in the sand and the Doctor's mouth opened as if he was about to say something but never did. She was standing in front of him, completely naked, and it made her feel vulnerable, but also oddly. . . free. Ignoring the Doctor's confused glance that never left her, she stepped into the lake.  
“Uhh,” Clara uttered once the water engulfed her completely, “You didn't mention that it was cold.”  
Despite that it was an amazing feeling on her bare skin, almost like being in a bathtub, just better, and now that her body was covered again the Doctor's eyes had left her and he chuckled next to her.  
“I would have warned you but you kinda took me by surprise,” he admitted, now swimming up to her. Clara threw him a smile as they both headed away from the beach.

 

* * *

 

The Doctor handed out another bottle of beer to everyone at the table before he sank down on the sofa with a sigh. They had been playing card games for two hours until Melody had started to yawn. When Amy came back downstairs from putting her daughter to sleep, she clapped her hands excitedly.  
“Alright,” she announced, “Let's bring out the adult games now.”  
Martha finished her first bottle of beer and placed it sideways on the coffee table. “Who's going to start?”  
“Well, Clara of course,” Amy pointed towards their new flatmate.  
When the Doctor glanced in her direction, he noticed that she looked a little shocked. “I, uhm, I'm afraid I don't know the rules,” Clara admitted sheepishly.  
“Oh, that's simple,” Amy explained, “You spin the bottle and whoever it points to has to pick either truth or dare. If they choose truth, you ask them a question. If they choose dare you can tell them to do a funny thing that we can all laugh about.”  
Clara giggled nervously. “Okay, that sounds easy enough.”  
She leaned forward and spun the bottle. After taking a couple of turns on the wooden table it finally stopped, pointing at Rory.  
He looked warily around the table. “If this is going to be another _kiss-the-person-to-your-right-thing_ , I'd like to be reseated.”  
The Doctor laughed, remembering that evening all too well where Amy had made Rory kiss him and everyone had howled with laughter.  
“What? Am I not a good kisser?” the Doctor asked jokingly, “I'm trying very hard not to be insulted right now.”  
“You know what I mean,” Rory growled, “I choose truth. Seems less dangerous with these people.”  
Clara, who had looked very confused while they had shared their memories, seemed to regain her posture. “Alright, uhm,” she paused, “How was your first kiss?”  
Amy broke out into laughter before everyone else while Rory still looked very uncomfortable.  
“Not funny,” Rory reminded her strictly.  
“He bit my lip,” Amy answered for him, still laughing.  
“I was surprised, okay? It wasn't intentional,” he said defensively before he bent forward and spun the bottle again. It pointed to Amy.  
“Oh, that screams revenge,” she sniggered, “I choose dare.”  
“I dare you,” Rory hesitated, “To kiss me.”  
The Doctor, along with the rest of the group, uttered an _awww_ when they kissed, until Amy suddenly cursed and jerked back because Rory had bitten her lip again out of revenge. Still laughing, Amy turned the bottle.  
“Clara!” Amy exclaimed, “Truth or dare?”  
“I'll go with truth,” she decided.  
“Have you ever kissed a girl?”  
Clara hesitated for a long moment before she mumbled something only the Doctor, who was sitting right next to her, could understand.  
“Was that a _yes_?” Martha asked, looking intrigued.  
“Yes. I kissed my friend Nina, back at school,” she admitted. After the chuckling had subsided, she spun the bottle again that ended up pointing to Martha.  
“Truth! Always truth!”  
“Name a secret place where you'd like to do it,” Clara prompted her.  
The Doctor could see Martha blush and look down at her feet. “I don't know about secret, but a swing seems. . . interesting.”  
“Maybe interesting,” Amy said, “But not really practical.”  
“Amy!” Rory scolded her with his looks.  
“What? Let others benefit from our experience. Having sex on a swing is only nice as long as you actually stay on the swing. I had bruises for weeks,” she said and everyone laughed.  
When Martha spun the bottle the end pointed at Amy again.  
“Truth,” she said.  
“Mhhhhhh,” Martha seemed to consider it, “What's the most exotic place you've ever done it?”  
“Do handjobs count?” Amy asked back and when Martha shrugged, everyone interpreted it as a yes, “Okay, then I'm going to go with _prison cell_.”  
“What?” Clara blurted out.  
“Well,” Amy hesitated while Rory buried his face in his hands, “I was bored after they had arrested us during that protest. They had us wait in there for three hours.”  
Everyone laughed and when Amy turned the bottle and it pointed towards the Doctor, he knew that this wouldn't go down well. He could already see the evil twinkling in her eyes that didn't bode well for him. If he chose truth, she would make him admit that he liked Clara. If he chose dare who knew what might happen.  
“Dare,” he decided after a moment of consideration.  
Amy gave him the falsest smile. “I dare you to kiss Clara. On the mouth.”  
He should have known and yet there was a tiny part of him that was pleased. He would really like to kiss Clara, but when he turned around to look at her, the Doctor noticed that she seemed slightly scared.  
“You don't have to,” he told her immediately, “If you don't want.”  
“Nonsense!” Amy shouted, “It's just a kiss. It's not like I've asked you to make babies in front of us. Come on.”  
Clara took a deep breath and granted him a light smile. “Alright,” she agreed breathlessly, “It's just a kiss.”  
The Doctor cleared his throat and raised his hand to Clara's cheek. Her skin was so soft that he was almost tempted to caress her and only now he noticed how nervous he actually was. Before either of them could change their mind, the Doctor bent forward, closed his eyes and brushed their lips together. The moment they touched he knew that he wanted more. He wanted to open his mouth, to taste her, pull her closer but Clara suddenly jerked back and put some distance between the two of them.  
Once the Doctor had put his scrambled mind back in place he cleared his throat again, brushing aside every thought of Clara. This kiss was as close as he would ever get to her. With a sigh he bent forward and spun the bottle.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments :) Now, wanna learn a bit more about Clara?

The game continued without Clara really taking any notice of it. She was too busy trying to get her own heartbeat back under control that was simply running haywire after the kiss. The moment their lips had touched Clara had been so tempted to give in, in fact, she had wanted nothing more than to crush her lips against his, bury her hands in his hair, pull him down on top of her and the strength of her own feelings had suddenly frightened Clara so much that she had seen no other way than to break the contact immediately. And now she was beginning to regret it because such a chance would surely not present itself again any time soon.  
“Clara?!” Amy's raised voice tore her from her thoughts. Oh God, how long had she been thinking about him? And had they all noticed?  
“Mh?” she looked up at Amy.  
“Truth or dare?”  
“I, er,” Clara paused, looking at the bottle that unmistakably pointed towards her, “Truth.”  
“What is it you like most about sex?”  
Clara wasn't sure whether it was because she still felt confused about the kiss, but suddenly her mind went utterly blank. She had no answer to this question and right now she couldn't even come up with a lie. There was just nothing there in her brain at all and before she could make a complete fool out of herself in front of these people, who were dreaming about sex on swings or had done it in a prison cell, Clara jumped up from her seat and left the room in a hurry until she found herself standing outside on the porch. 

The fresh night air felt good on her glowing skin and Clara breathed in deeply, but it wasn't enough to wash away this turmoil inside of her. Slowly she sank down to sit on the steps facing the garden and wondered how long she would be alone before someone came looking for her.  
As it turned out, not very long. The Doctor appeared next to her and wordlessly handed her the bottle of beer she had left in the living room and Clara took it, if only to have something to hold on to.  
“Are you alright?” the Doctor asked kindly while he took a seat next to her, “If it's about the kiss, then I'm sorry. I-”  
“It's not,” Clara lied. Well, it wasn't entirely about the kiss, even though it had thrown her slightly off track.  
“Really?” he inquired, “Cause you didn't seem to like it very much.”  
Clara opened her mouth to reply and turned her head in his direction, but when she looked at the Doctor all words were lost.  
“It's okay, Clara, you can tell me,” he said calmly, “And the others as well. We're probably the least judgemental people you will ever meet. So, was it the kiss? Or was it Amy's question? If you've never had sex, you can just say so. Really. It's okay.”  
“I've had sex,” Clara replied immediately and the Doctor's kind words really made her want to trust him. She had never talked to a man about these matters. Only her friend Nina. “I just. . . I didn't like it. Not very much.”  
“What?” the Doctor almost burst into laughter and Clara half regretted confessing it to him, which, she guessed, must have been visible on her face, “I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh.”  
“That's why I didn't want to say it. You all seem so. . . experienced and I,” she broke off, “My fiancé wanted to wait until marriage, but I said I wanted to try it before. We did it a couple of times and it wasn't really enjoyable. At least not for me.”  
Suddenly the Doctor reached for her hand and Clara almost jerked back again at the sudden skin contact. But when she looked up and he was smiling so kindly at her, she allowed the touch.  
“Then it's probably a good thing that you left him,” the Doctor chuckled, “Trust me, a real man makes sure that his woman is enjoying herself. That's half the fun of it. You really could have told us. It's not your fault you ended up with an idiot.”  
Clara granted him a weak smile, but didn't find the words to answer because at this moment she realized why exactly she was shying away from his touch, why he unsettled her so much and what the reason for the throbbing itch between her thighs truly was. Clara desired him.  
Just when she was thinking about leaning closer and kissing him again, the Doctor suddenly jumped up and held his hand in her direction.  
“Wanna come back inside?” he asked.  
Clara reached for his hand and allowed the Doctor to pull her up into a standing position. She looked up at him and smiled.  
“It really wasn't about the kiss,” she insisted again and Clara couldn't quite say what made her do it, but suddenly, as if something else was taking control over her own body, she went up on tiptoes and pecked him on the lips before she quickly turned around and headed back inside.

“Are you okay?” Martha asked her once Clara had sat back down on the sofa and the Doctor had followed her example.  
“Yeah,” Clara confirmed, “I just needed a bit of fresh air. Where were we?”  
“I asked what your favourite thing about sex was,” Amy reminded her before stuffing a handful of crisps into her mouth.  
Clara took a deep breath, determined to follow the Doctor's advice. “I don't have a favourite thing about sex. I've only ever done it with my former fiancé and that wasn't so. . . pleasurable.”  
When she looked up at Amy, she noticed her throwing the Doctor a look that she couldn't quite place, but when she turned her head towards the Doctor, he was only staring at his own two feet.

The evening progressed without further dramatic events and Clara wasn't asked to kiss any of the others and when it was shortly after midnight they all decided it was time for bed. Once Clara had changed into her pyjamas she headed towards the small bathroom, only to find it already occupied by the Doctor, who was brushing his teeth.  
“Almost done,” he mumbled, the toothbrush still in his mouth.  
Clara smiled at him and held her own toothbrush under the running water. “Don't worry. There's enough room for two,” she replied before starting to brush her own teeth.  
When their eyes met in the bathroom mirror Clara suddenly started giggling at how domestic their little encounter seemed and apparently the Doctor found it funny as well. Eventually the Doctor spit out the remaining toothpaste and turned towards Clara.  
“I thought it was a nice evening,” he said.  
Clara followed his example and rinsed out her mouth before she came to look at him. “Yeah, I thought so, too. Thanks for cheering me up.”  
The Doctor smiled, his gaze shifting to his feet again. “You had nothing to feel bad about. Like I said, he's an idiot. With the right partner sex is a lot of fun.”  
Again something inside of her took over and Clara was sure to regret it later. “Can't wait to find out,” she said mischievously and when the Doctor looked up at her, she winked at him. He swallowed.  
“Clara-”  
“Good night, Doctor,” she said kindly and turned around to retreat to her own bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, guys! They always make me so happy :)))

Clara's first week in her new home went by quietly. After the weekend, which she had thoroughly enjoyed with everyone being home and hanging out around the house, common meals and playtime with Melody, the place seemed quite empty on Monday morning when everyone had gone back to work. She hardly saw the Doctor, who seemed to spend a lot more time in his practice than the previous week, except for their newly established ritual of swimming together in the mornings.  
Clara had gone out nearly every single day, trying to find a job until at last she was successful. A book shop just around the corner was looking for help and they had eyed her suspiciously when she had told them about her English literature degree from Oxford, but in the end they had hired her to start the following month. It was only a temporary solution, Clara knew that, but she needed something to do until she had figured out what exactly she wanted to do with her life. And she was slowly beginning to feel guilty about living off her parents' money. 

When she came home on Friday evening, she found that the rest had already gathered in the living room, sitting around the coffee table. Clara carefully stepped closer.  
“Oh, Clara, good,” Amy said with a smile, “You can join us if you like.”  
“Join you doing what?” she asked nervously and took a seat next to the Doctor on the sofa. He granted her a warm smile, like he always did.  
“We want to join a protest tomorrow,” Amy explained, “This local company is planning to build another factory rather close to San Pablo. Lots of people I know are gathering in front of the company's main building here in San Francisco tomorrow around noon.”  
“What is San Pablo?” Clara asked them curiously.  
“There have been talks to build a Wildlife Refuge at San Pablo in a few years,” the Doctor explained, “A large factory would interfere with the protection of the wildlife and the environment. Of course, as long as there are no definite plans for the refuge, they can build what they like if they buy the land.”  
“I see,” Clara muttered and stared at the table that was already covered in handwritten protest signs, “Is it dangerous?”  
She looked up at the others, who all shook their heads, a movement that slowly died down, making Clara somewhat wary.  
“Well,” Amy paused, “This is just going to be a small protest. I doubt anything bad will happen. It's the big ones that sometimes end in violence. Or arrest. We'll be fine.”  
Clara wasn't entirely convinced. And yet she was curious.  
“Alright,” she finally said, “I'll come.”  
“Perfect,” Amy clapped her hands together, “I'll ask Melody to draw you a sign as well.”  
Clara opened her mouth to say something until a more important question came to her mind. “Who's gonna watch Melody?”  
“My turn,” Martha said with a smile, “I have to study anyway, I don't mind.”  
Clara nodded, not entirely sure if she was comfortable with the whole matter, but decided not to say anything else about it. At least not until she had gathered first hand experience.

 

* * *

 

When the car pulled up at a parking space close to where the protest was set to begin, the Doctor soon realized that Amy had greatly underestimated the size of it. A large number of people holding various signs was already marching past them in the direction of the company main building.  
“I thought it was supposed to be a _small_ protest?” Clara asked from the seat next to him and she learned forward to get a better look at the masses.  
“So did I,” Amy mumbled.  
“Should we better turn around?” Rory suggested and pointed to a small corner behind which the Doctor could spot a police car, “I'm not so keen on getting arrested again.”  
Clara giggled. “How often does that happen exactly?”  
“Five times,” Rory replied grumpily, throwing Amy a dirty glance.  
“Three,” the Doctor added and when Clara looked at him, he merely shrugged, “I run faster.”  
“Alright, let's do this,” Clara grabbed the signs and headed out of the car door before the Doctor could stop her.  
Seeing how many people had already gathered here and that the police had also arrived, he wasn't sure if they should really be taking part now, especially with Clara. It was different with Amy and Rory, or even Martha, they had done this sort of thing dozens of times. They knew how it worked, they knew the rules and when to start running, but Clara was new to this. The Doctor didn't want her to get into unnecessary trouble, but now that they were here she seemed so eager that he couldn't help but follow after her.  
“Stay close to me,” he told her as she handed him one of the signs, “I don't want to lose you in the crowd.”  
She looked up at him and the Doctor could clearly see the twinkling of excitement in her eyes. That was when it dawned on him that he hardly knew anything about her at all. Of course, she had revealed some personal details while they had been playing truth or dare but somehow he knew that they had only scratched the surface of who Clara Oswald really was. Maybe his assumptions about her were wrong. Maybe she had done this sort of thing before.

When they came closer to the gates the crowd seemed to grow thicker, and angrier. The Doctor evaded one of the signs that a protester had almost hit him with while their shouting grew louder. He didn't like it. He hadn't expected there to be so many of them and the protesters were too angry, some of them even shouting death threats in the direction of the office building.  
“They're farmers,” Amy said and came to a halt next to them, “They own land in the area and they're afraid the waste of the factory would poison their soil and the air.”  
Looking into Amy's face the Doctor noticed the same uneasiness he felt, but his main concern was still Clara, who seemed utterly oblivious. He knew too well that the mood of this crowd could shift in a heartbeat if someone decided to do something stupid. The Doctor didn't mind ending up in the middle of a brawl or even in prison again, but he didn't want that to happen to Clara.  
“Clara, we should go,” he said over the angry shouting.  
She turned around to look at him, seemingly confused. “But why?”  
Just when he was about to explain it to her, the Doctor noticed a man closer to the gate picking up a stone and throwing it in the direction of the office building. When he heard glass shatter the police sirens followed only seconds later. Then everything happened too fast. 

The crowd started pushing in the direction of the gates, attempting to break through, shouting and hitting each other and finally they succeeded when the clanging of iron could be heard. The Doctor grabbed Clara by the waist and pulled her back, shielding her with his own body as the water cannons hit them, and in a matter of seconds he was soaked to the bone. It stung and she screamed at the impact and when the first wave was over, the Doctor grabbed her hand and dragged her along, running back to the car as fast as they could with Amy and Rory leading the way.  
Soon enough they were out of reach for the full blast of the water cannons, but still not far enough to get away without a good shower. They all gasped and panted from the running once they were back inside the car and Amy was the first one to start laughing.  
“Oh, I love the running,” she said before Rory turned the key in the ignition. Some other fleeing protesters were running past their car, but the police wasn't chasing them. They had gotten away in time. 

The Doctor turned towards Clara, who was utterly soaked, but smiling, even though she still seemed slightly out of breath.  
“Are you okay?” he asked her once the car started to move.  
Clara took a deep breath and nodded before she suddenly launched forward and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Thank you,” she uttered, “For protecting me.”  
His heart was hammering inside his chest, though the Doctor wasn't sure whether it had been caused by the running or Clara's kiss. His mind was too scrambled to even find the right words to reply as she smiled at him.  
Rory drove away from the scene and slowly but surely their breathing returned to normal, but the protest seemed to have left his mind completely. Instead the Doctor was spellbound by the woman next to him and he couldn't help but raise his hand to brush a wet strand of hair out of her face.  
“You're completely soaked,” he muttered almost absent-mindedly.  
“We can change when we get home,” she replied happily and sank back into her seat.  
The Doctor turned around to face the windscreen, trying to take his mind off Clara. Not that he had the slightest chance of succeeding in that. He had tried to avoid her all week, but even that couldn't change the fact that he was thinking about her constantly.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for your comments <3333

Clara had a hard time keeping herself from smiling on the ride home and an even harder time trying to keep her eyes off the Doctor. She had kissed him again in the height of the moment and all she could think about was how she wanted to do it once more. She couldn't even quite explain what had come over her, but the protest, the masses of people, the running – she had enjoyed that more than she would have thought, no matter how short it had turned out. And then there was the fact that the Doctor had protected her from the water canons by taking the full blast himself even though it must have hurt. By now Clara was sure that she was attracted to him and that he at least cared for her. Maybe he would be _the right partner_? The one sex could actually be fun with. Her feelings for him were different than the feelings she had had for her fiancé and she couldn't quite understand them yet. But her being here in America was all about experimentation after all.  
Clara turned around to look at the Doctor whose eyes were fixed on the road, all the while thinking what she could say to him. Luckily she didn't have to because he soon noticed her staring.  
“Are you cold?” he asked.  
“Why? Are you?” she asked back with a smile.  
“No,” the Doctor chuckled, “But I'm not the one in the short dress.”  
In a burst of bravery Clara reached for his hand and led it to rest upon her thigh. “See,” she told him, “Not cold.”  
The brief expression of surprise on his face was soon replace by something else, a kind of smile that she couldn't quite place as his fingers softly started caressing her skin.  
Suddenly they were both interrupted by Amy giving Rory a soft punch into the ribs and while the Doctor pulled his hand away, Clara realized that Rory had been watching them through the rear view mirror the entire time. 

 

* * *

 

Again Clara saw very little of the Doctor for the rest of the day and somehow she got the impression that he was avoiding her. When Amy announced they would all be gathering outside by the fire and have a little barbecue Clara immediately volunteered to go looking for the Doctor. She found him soon enough, in his music room in the basement.  
Clara looked around the room and counted no less than eight guitars, nine if she included the electric guitar he was currently playing at a low volume.  
“You're good at that,” she said with a smile after she had listened to him play for a long moment.  
The Doctor looked up and by the expression on his face she could tell that he had been oblivious to her presence until a second ago.  
“Amy has a different opinion on that,” he said simply.  
“I'm pretty sure she just wants to tease you,” Clara chuckled, “You should bring one of the acoustics out to the fire with you. We decided to have a little barbecue. That's why I came looking for you.”  
The Doctor rose to his feet and placed the electric guitar back on its stand before he crossed the room and picked another one. They soon joined everyone else in the back garden where Rory was almost ready with their dinner. 

The night was a little cooler and Clara wrapped herself in a blanket and sat down by the fire while the Doctor took the seat next to her and started playing a simple melody. She closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair.  
Clara hadn't even been living here for two weeks and she knew that one day everyday life would probably catch up with her, especially once she had started working, and it would feel less like a holiday, but for now it was simply magical. She loved it with all her heart. The house, the people, the entire spirit of it and it made her feel more alive than she had ever felt before.  
A short while later Rory handed her one of the hamburgers and Clara ate it hungrily, only now remembering that she hadn't really eaten anything since breakfast. When Martha had finished her meal she announced that it was time for her to unwind a little and vanished inside the house, only to return with something that Clara should have seen coming, but somehow hadn't. In her hand Martha was holding something that looked suspiciously like a joint. She lit it and took a long drag before handing it over to Amy.  
“Nah,” she shook her head, “It was my turn last time. Rory?”  
He nodded and took the joint from her.

“What's it like?” Clara asked the Doctor curiously. She had heard about it of course, about what it did, but she had never seen it for herself.  
He only shrugged in reply. “Hard to explain. Wanna try it?”  
Clara shook her head, somehow finding the idea of it appalling without being able to really explain why. “No, not tonight. Maybe some other time.”  
Suddenly that smile was back on his face, the one he had given her earlier while stroking her thigh in the car. “Wanna try something else?” the Doctor asked sheepishly.  
Clara chuckled. “What are you thinking about?”  
Without further warning the Doctor bent forward and locked their lips in a kiss. She was surprised at first and the sensation made her heart flutter wildly inside her chest when he opened his mouth and trailed his tongue over her lips. He was so careful, so soft that Clara couldn't help but open up to him. His hand soon wandered to her head, cupping her cheek and pulling her even closer to him. Clara closed her eyes and let it happen.  
She was only vaguely aware that the others were still present, that they saw everything and in the back of her mind she thought she heard Amy cheer, but she didn't care. She was kissing the Doctor and she was loving it more with every second that their kiss deepened. Clara had kissed before, but not quite like this and it was exciting and frightening at the same time.  
Finally, when she already seemed to run out of breath, their lips parted and the Doctor's mouth wandered to her ear instead. She almost gasped when he placed a short kiss right next to it and his low voice made her shiver all over.  
“Do you want to go somewhere more private?” he asked in a whisper.  
“Where?” she breathed, a smile on her lips. Having the Doctor so close to her made her a little flustered and the tingling between her thighs she had already become familiar with was only increasing when the Doctor nipped at her lobe.  
“I want to take care of you,” he whispered, his breath hot on her skin, “In the bedroom. Like you deserve it.”  
Clara swallowed as she turned her head in his direction and when she looked at him she thought she saw the same hesitation on his features that she felt inside of her. It looked downright adorable on him.  
But it was there for a reason. They had only known each other for less than two weeks, they lived together and they would have to continue to live together afterwards. Yet she had been attracted to him right from the beginning and right now Clara believed that the Doctor probably fancied her, too, at least a little. They would just continue to pine after each other, so they might as well get it over with and give it a try.  
“Won't the others know what we'll do if we disappear together now?” she asked quietly.  
The Doctor replied with a shrug. “So what?”  
Finally she giggled and nodded. “Alright. Let's go.”


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beware: this is pure smut!

The Doctor led the way with Clara trailing after him only a few steps behind until he stopped right in front of her room. He hadn’t let go of her hand since they had left the garden and now he used the connection to pull her closer to him for another kiss. It was as if he could taste her innocence, her reluctance, her insecurities on his tongue.  
“It’s okay,” he whispered, cupping her face in his hands, “I’m not gonna hurt you. And I won’t do anything that you don’t want. Got it?”  
Carefully she nodded right before Clara started to giggle. “I’m,” she paused, “I’m a little nervous. That’s all.”  
The Doctor smiled back. “So am I,” he confessed.  
Clara furrowed her brows in confusion. “Why? You have surely been with loads of different women.”  
Now it was up to the Doctor to chuckle. “There weren’t _that_ many, Clara. Besides,” he pushed a stray strand of hair out of her face, “First time with someone new. That’s always. . . a good reason to be nervous. Oh, hang on.”  
The Doctor quickly rushed into his own room to retrieve a package of condoms before joining Clara again in the corridor. He noticed her take a deep breath before they entered her room together where he tossed the condoms on the bedside table, reached for the hem of his shirt and pulled it over his head, discarding it on the floor. He couldn’t help but notice how Clara’s eyes lit up when she saw him, how she swallowed hard at the sight and at this moment he was truly sure that she wanted him. He launched forward, wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed another long kiss to her lips. He wanted her, too. He wanted so much to please her, to show her just how good it could be, to make her fall apart under his touch and he didn’t even understand why he wanted that so much. Soon enough the Doctor found his hands fumbling with the zip at the back of her dress, pulling it down until it only loosely hung around her shoulders. He kissed her until he started running out of breath and then he kissed his way down her throat but not without noticing how she shivered under his touch, how she uttered just the tiniest moan as he sucked at the delicate skin and her hands nestled in his hair, trying to keep him in place.  
Her dress slipped off her shoulders, revealing a white silk camisole and beneath that nothing but her hardened nipples. The Doctor’s lips left her skin and he couldn’t help but stare. The sight of it was causing his cock to stir inside his trousers and he only hoped that he would continue to think about her and not his own desire that was beginning to pulse through him. Carefully he raised his hand, cupping one of her breasts and teasing her through the fabric with his thumb. Clara inhaled sharply at the contact.  
“Do you like it?” he asked her, although he could tell by her reaction that she did. Her dress fell to the floor for good, leaving her before him in just her underwear and her stockings. He couldn’t tell how this was different from seeing her naked, which he had, every single day since they had started swimming together. The swimming was fun, but undressing Clara, peeling her out of her clothing layer after layer was magical. The Doctor had been with quite a few women, practising the lifestyle of free love, yet it still remained a marvellous and exciting experience, especially with someone he cared about as much as he did about her.  
“Yes,” she breathed and the Doctor took it as an invitation to pull up her camisole and drop it to the floor. His hands unhooked her garter belt and pulled it down, taking her stockings with it, which he found a lot simpler than unstrapping them first while he sank down on his knees and brought his mouth to where her skin was laid bare. Clara started to giggle when he sucked on the inside of her thighs.  
“You’re beautiful,” he whispered onto her skin as he kissed his way back up her legs, “Do you know that?”  
When he looked up the Doctor could see Clara smile down at him as if she knew that she was pretty but too modest to ever admit to knowing. He came back up to be at eye level with her and kissed her once more, slowly, longingly and she pressed herself against him. Clara's hands wandered over his chest until they came to rest on his belt and she broke the kiss to look down at what she was doing as she undid the belt buckle.  
However once his clothes had fallen to the floor and he was standing in front of her, half hard and completely naked, she seemed to have run out of ideas on how to continue.  
"Come here," the Doctor whispered and gently took her hand to pull her in the direction of the bed. He kissed her again as they fell into the sheets and he landed on top of her when suddenly she stopped kissing him back.

The Doctor raised his head to look at her.  
"Are you okay?" he asked, "Do you want to stop?"  
Clara sighed. "No, it's just-"  
"Just what? We don't have to do anything, Clara. Only if you want to."  
"I want to," she replied determinedly and sat back up in bed, the Doctor following her example, "But this is so foreign, so. . . _different_. You obviously know what you're doing and I don't have a clue. I feel so useless. I've done this before and yet it feels like I haven't."  
The Doctor smiled at her as he raised his hand to fasten her hair back behind her ear. "You don't have to do anything except to lean back and enjoy yourself. I told you, I want to take care of you."  
Finally Clara nodded, a hint of a smile on her face before she bent forward and pecked him on the lips. Eventually she sank back into the pillows and the Doctor leaned over her and pushed the last layer of clothing, her knickers, out of the way while he covered her body in kisses. Soon he found her relaxing again under his touch as he returned to her breasts, flicking his tongue and sucking at her nipple that caused her to moan in earnest this time. Her hands tangled in his hair as he kissed down her stomach but suddenly, just when he was about to go further, Clara stopped him.  
"What are you doing?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.  
"I-" he broke off, confused, “You haven't done that before?”  
“No?” Clara half whispered and the Doctor couldn't help but chuckled.  
“Excuse me, but your fiancé really was an idiot. Trust me, you're gonna like it,” he promised her and after a moment of consideration Clara let herself fall back.  
She uttered a small “ _oh_ ” when he parted her folds with his fingers and delved his tongue in. Her initial reluctance was slowly waning when she parted her legs further for him, her hands keeping a tighter hold in his hair and she was beginning to hum blissfully as the Doctor lapped at her, mapping out her sex with his tongue inch by inch and Clara pushed herself against him. A moan came over her lips as he dipped his tongue in deeper and she arched her back up for more, her breathing becoming fast and more ragged with every passing moment. The sounds she made alone almost drove him mad with desire and he became more and more aware of his painfully hard cock that was dying to plunge into the wetness he was currently tending to with his tongue.  
When she started writhing under him the Doctor carefully slid a finger inside of her at which she wheezed when she clenched her muscles around it to feel more. He added another finger and dug deep inside of her before Clara suddenly moaned out loud and her juices came flowing over his hand and tongue.

He didn't even want to give her time to come down from her orgasm as he leaned over her and reached for the condoms he had discarded on the bedside table earlier. Unwrapping it quickly, the Doctor carefully wrapped it around his shaft that was so sensitive already he was afraid he wouldn't last to pleasure her a second time.  
When he bent over Clara she was smiling at him, even though she still seemed a little breathless. The earlier shyness and hesitation seemed almost completely forgotten.  
“Ready?” he asked.  
Clara giggled softly. “Ready,” she confirmed.  
The Doctor closed his eyes and had to hold back a whimper as he moved inside of her. Clara was so tight and wet around him that it almost made him forget about his initial intention to make it just about her and instead give in to his own aching urge. She gasped when he filled her up completely and the Doctor opened his eyes again, worried that he might have hurt her until he spotted the serene look on her face, so he kept moving.  
He bent down to place a sloppy kiss on her lips while he drove inside of her, trying to keep his mind distracted. Instead of his own burning arousal he concentrated on the task of making her come again, his desperate need to prove to her that she could enjoy sex with him kicking in again and he sped up his movements.  
Clara soon wrapped her legs around him, allowing him in deeper and finally that moan he had been holding back came over his lips. She felt too good, too hot around him. He needed to think of something else. Using one hand to prop himself up he brought the other down to where they were joined and began rubbing her clit at the same rhythm. She whimpered beneath him and pushed her hips up to meet him. Clara gasped when one thrust his particularly deep.  
“Oh God,” she muttered breathlessly, her hands coming up to claw at his back. Her face was perfect like this, blushed and twisted in ecstasy as her muscles clenched around his cock, almost propelling him over the edge as she came and only now the Doctor allowed himself to let go. He closed his eyes and thrust hard inside of her, riding out her own orgasm until he couldn't hold back another second as pleasure took over and he finally released himself with a long and satisfied groan.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaand more smut. Thank you guys for the comments <3333 I'm so glad you all liked it.

Clara heard the chatter of Amy and Rory on the staircase before their voices slowly died away behind their bedroom door. She couldn't tell what time it was or how long they had been in her room or even how long they had just been lying next to each other, waiting for their breathing to return to normal while her head was nestled against the Doctor's chest. She felt a sort of blissful emptiness mixed with the waning pleasure of her climax and oddly enough she didn't even try to compare it to the times she had done it with her fiancé. She just knew that the Doctor had definitely been right.  
Something began to tickle her ear and soon Clara realized that it was the Doctor, kissing her again and nipping at her lobe.  
“What are you doing?” she asked him with a giggle.  
“I don't know,” he mumbled with his lips against her neck, “Seducing you.”  
Clara snorted and suddenly noticed his hand sliding over her thigh and between her legs. As if by instinct she parted them to make way for him. “What? Again?”  
“If you want to,” he replied, burying his lips in her neck and Clara moaned involuntarily as his finger slipped between her folds, finding that one spot he had discovered earlier that immediately set her off. Her sex still felt a little sensitive but his fingers were doing a very good job at making her forget all about it as he gently rubbed her clit and she found herself writhing against his touch.  
In return she reached out and wrapped her hand carefully around his cock. When she started stroking him the Doctor let out a soft moan and she noticed how quickly he began to grow harder under her touch. For a brief moment she wondered if she could do the same to him that he had done earlier and take him into her mouth. Her friend Nina had told her about it and up until now Clara hadn't really seen the appeal of it but at this moment she was itching to try it.  
“Can I-” she started but soon broke off, not really knowing how she should phrase it.  
“Can you what?” the Doctor asked and at the same time increased the pressure against her clit. Clara moaned softly at the change in sensation but quickly regained control over herself.  
“Can I take you in my mouth?” she asked sheepishly and the Doctor looked up at her with a smile.  
“Some other time,” he said before he pressed his lips on her own and suddenly Clara's heart leaped with joy at the prospect of doing all of this with him again. She hadn't been sure if he would want to and the fact that he did made her insanely happy.

All of a sudden his mouth was gone and the Doctor turned her around in bed where she pushed herself up on all fours. He was on top of her in no time, stroking her hair to one side and continuing to cover her neck in kisses. Clara could already feel his hardness brush against her entrance. Right now her sex was itching to have him inside of her again and her desire only increased when he gently scraped his teeth over the back of her neck while one of his hands found its way to her clit once more. He teased her mercilessly, his touch so gentle that it was hardly there at all when she wanted so much more of him. Clara was close to begging him to stop and fuck her properly when his hand was suddenly gone and she could see him reach for the condoms.  
A few moments later he finally entered her when Clara hadn't even known it was possible in this position, but it was a whole different angle, a whole different sensation as he drove his hard cock inside of her, a little less gentle than he had earlier. She didn't mind at all even though she was still a little tender.  
This time it was rough as both his hand dug into the flesh of her hips to guide her on top of him and Clara reached for the headboard for support, her breath already fast again, coming out with the rhythm of his thrusts. She could hear him moan behind her and a part of her regretted that she couldn't see his face from this position.  
Clara let out a mewling sound when he suddenly slowed his movements and bent back down over her to tend to her clit with his hands. Every time he drove into her was so slow and distinct that it made her half mad. Even though she knew she was going to regret it later, judging by her soreness, she wanted him to go faster again.  
“Oh, Clara,” he moaned, moving back inside of her at an agonizingly slow speed.  
“Please,” she begged him, “Go faster.”  
The Doctor chuckled through his ragged breath. “Faster, you say?”  
“ _Mh-mh_ ,” was all she could reply as he sat back up and both his hands reached for her hips again, slamming her down on his cock again, his front pounding against her arse until she could feel a surge of pleasure run through her and she came just moments before he did and they both feel limply back into the pillows.

“I need a break,” Clara said after a moment, still trying to catch her breath.  
“I thought we could go for another round,” the Doctor chuckled.  
“ _What?!_ ” she turned around to look at him lying next to her and immediately realized that he was joking. She gave him a soft punch which made him laugh only more before he turned around and wrapped his arms around her. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.  
“You were right though,” she said a short while later, “About what you said to me the other night. This was good.”  
Suddenly the Doctor lifted his head to look at her and seemed slightly hurt. “ _Good?_ ”  
When she looked at him Clara couldn't help but arch her eyebrows up. “Doctor,” she began carefully, “You didn't happen to put some extra effort in it just because of what I told you about my previous experience?”  
When he didn't reply Clara knew that she was right and she laughed softly while leaning back against his chest.  
“Well, consider your point taken. And now sleep.”  
After another short kiss the Doctor rolled on his side and Clara closed her eyes, happy and utterly exhausted, and soon began to drift off.

 

When she woke up the following morning the bed next to her was empty and for a brief moment Clara got scared. They hadn't actually talked about anything at all, about what it meant for both of them. But then Clara remembered that he had spoken about “ _some other time_ ” which should mean that he was planning on doing it again. With that little piece of information reassuring her Clara reached for her bathrobe and headed towards the bathroom.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comment, my faithful reader ThatFuckerTucker <3

The day was surprisingly cold and rainy, which meant that their new morning routine of swimming together was cancelled, and once they had all eaten breakfast together everyone retreated to a different part of the house and Clara was more than a bit confused because the Doctor treated her like he had on any other morning as if nothing had ever happened between the two of them. He was friendly, he smiled at her, but no more and before she even had a chance to talk to him, he excused himself and left to clean out some paperwork in his office.  
Clara swallowed her anger about the matter and to take her mind off him she decided to finally find a place for her books that were still sitting in their boxes like on the day she had moved in. But why didn't he even mention last night with a single syllable? Why didn't he even give her a peck on the cheek? Clara would have been happy with just the tiniest hint of affection. Anything that made her feel less like she had only just imagined last night. 

“I'm bored,” Melody's voice suddenly tore her from her thoughts and Clara turned around to look at the child standing in the doorway, wearing a rather moody expression on her face.  
“Well, what are your mum and dad up to?” she asked, giving Melody a kind smile.  
The girl sighed. “Dad's fixing something in my bedroom and I can't find mum. And Martha has to study.”  
Clara shrugged. “I'm free. Do you want to play something?”  
Melody's face lit up in an instant. “Oh yes, let's play hide and seek!”  
“Fine,” Clara agreed, “I'll count until 20 and then I'll come looking for you.”  
The girl giggled and darted off into the corridor. Clara counted to 20 as slowly as possible before yelling into the corridor that she was on her way and stepped out of the room. Quietly she made her way across the floor.  
“Where could Melody be?” she asked loudly, looking around and already spotting the girl hiding behind the plant next to the banister. Yet she decided not to disappoint her so quickly and moved on, pretending she hadn't seen a thing.  
Clara continued to look for her for a couple of minutes and even walked downstairs until she could hear Melody giggle.  
“Ha!” she exclaimed, “Found you!”  
“Now you have to hide!” the girl told her and immediately started counting, a lot quicker than Clara had.

She hurried down the rest of the stairs and went into the kitchen, knowing she could duck behind the middle counter and not be seen immediately upon entering the kitchen. There she waited patiently for Melody to find her.  
Only a few moments passed before Clara could hear footsteps approaching but those weren't the footsteps of a young girl.  
“Doctor, you can't treat her like that,” Amy's voice suddenly said and in horror Clara realized that she was in the company of the Doctor. Instinctively she tried to make herself smaller in her hiding place.  
“I haven't treated her any differently,” the Doctor argued.  
“Yes, and that's the point, you idiot! I can only imagine what must be going on inside her head right now. You need to talk to Clara.”  
“I don't know what's there to talk about.”  
“Yes you do! I know you like her and I want you to forget about that free love crap and give her an honest chance. You'll never find a woman willing to play your stupid game.”  
“It's not a game,” the Doctor tried to defend himself, “It's just what I think works best. Relationships haven't really worked out for me and-”  
He broke off and suddenly Clara could hear Melody's tiny voice. “Have you seen Clara? We're playing hide and seek.”  
“Clara's not here, sweetheart,” Amy told her gently.  
“But she went in this direction,” Melody argued.  
Clara's heart sank when she realized there was no way out of this one. She had overheard something that she shouldn't have and she would get caught either now or within the next minutes so she decided to simply get it over with. Slowly she rose out of her hiding place.  
“Here I am, you caught me,” he said and when she looked at the Doctor she noticed the horror in his eyes when he realized what she must have overheard.  
“Well, you found your mum now,” Clara continued sheepishly, “I'll be in the library.”

Clara didn't know exactly what bothered her apart from her own confusion. She had slept with the Doctor and enjoyed it, even though it had all gone so fast. She couldn't even say what her expectations for his reaction had been, she only knew that her expectations hadn't been met. So he was complicated, like Amy had told her before and he decided to act like nothing had ever happened but she didn't understand why or even why it bothered her so much that he did.  
When there was a knock on the door she turned around and spotted the Doctor waiting in the doorway, looking about as uncomfortable as she felt right now.  
“Hey,” he granted her a smile, “How are you doing?”  
Clara could do nothing but gawk at him. “How. . . _how am I doing_?” she asked in disbelief, “Couldn't you think of something else except for how am I doing?”  
“I'm sorry, okay? I know we should have talked earlier. Last night or this morning. I'm not so very good at that.”

Clara sank down on the settee and huffed. She waited a long moment before she finally gestured for him to join her. Reluctantly the Doctor took a seat next to her but still kept some distance.  
“Last night was great,” he began carefully, “I really enjoyed it and I'd love to repeat that and I like you a lot. But, truth is, I haven't really been in a relationship for a long time. I thought since my marriage failed it would be better to keep things causal and I thought that for me it worked. Unfortunately the women I've been with didn't think so.”  
Clara turned her head to look at him. “Rose. Am I right?”  
The Doctor gave her a sad smile. “I loved her and she loved me but we both wanted different things. She found a man who wanted to be in a stable relationship, who wanted to get married, who wanted kids, all the things I wasn't willing to give to her.”  
“Why not?” Clara asked curiously.  
The Doctor simply shrugged. “Because right now I like things the way they are. I might chance my mind, I might not,” he looked straight at her, “I can't make any promises, Clara. I can't make any guarantees. All I can tell you is that I've fancied you from the moment I saw you.”  
Clara couldn't help but smile at that last part.  
“So, what do you say? Would you like for us to go our separate ways or explore other possibilities?” he asked after a moment.  
She took a deep breath. What would she like? For things to be easy for a start but since that was out of the question Clara couldn't really say. “I don't know,” she finally replied honestly, “I can't say I've ever been in this situation.”  
Suddenly the Doctor chuckled. “You know what I think? You're a bit of a control freak.”  
“ _I am not!_ ” Clara protested immediately.  
“Oh?” the Doctor cocked his eyebrows, “So you didn't flee from your parents and fiancé cause they were too controlling for you?”  
“Well-”  
“You didn't want to try the joint cause it might mean losing control over yourself. And you were uncomfortable with me last night because I am more experienced than you and you had no chance of taking the reigns. And you're freaking out now cause you still have that image of a man and a woman being in a relationship in your head that I won't fit into. You can't control me but you'd like to and it drives you crazy.”  
Clara opened her mouth to speak but she soon had to realize that he was right. At least about some things.  
“You like that I'm pushing you out of your comfort zone – as long as you can still control the direction.”

He was right, of course. The Doctor was right about her and it bothered her that he had seen through her quicker than she had understood her own feelings. Without thinking about it further she swung her leg over him and came to sit on his lap, taking the Doctor utterly by surprise when she smiled at him. She wouldn't make it easy for him and she wouldn't give in to him without at least trying to fight back. Clara might have been less experienced but she wasn't stupid and she was a fast learner.  
“Maybe,” she said, eyeing him curiously, “But then maybe you shouldn't try to control a control freak.”  
The Doctor grinned at her. “Oh? What happens if I try?”  
Clara smiled as she reached between his legs. She couldn't quite tell where her courage had come from but she guessed that it was still because she was slightly mad at him for calling her controlling. She quickly found him beneath his jeans and gave him a light squeeze. “You might end up with more than you bargained for.”  
He chuckled and leaned his head back against the sofa as she continued to massage him through the fabric of his trousers. “I'm willing to take that risk, I think,” he said, quickly followed by a moan when she squeezed harder.  
“You like that, don't you?” Clara raised her eyebrows.  
He was hardening quickly under her palm, the thought of it arousing her more than she would have liked under the circumstances.  
“Yes,” he hissed and suddenly reached out to pull her closer for a kiss. She gave in quickly, letting his tongue invade her mouth while she kept teasing him with her hand to the point that the fabric was beginning to feel damp.  
When their lips parted the Doctor looked straight at her, his pupils wide in arousal. “How about we continue where we left off?” he suggested casually.  
Clara smiled at him. “Maybe some other time. I'm still a little sore from last night,” she stated simply and drew away her hand while she climbed off his lap. The look the Doctor gave her at this moment was the most adorable expression of shock she had ever seen on his face and she had to try very hard to refrain from laughing out loud.  
“About what you asked earlier,” she said, “I want to try it. You and me, I want to give it a go.”  
For a moment the Doctor seemed too dazzled to speak and Clara quickly made her way out of the library before he even had a chance of saying anything in return.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the comments :) It makes my day to know you enjoy this story!  
> And here comes possibly the hottest smut scene I've ever done so turn up the AC.

The Doctor couldn't stop thinking about Clara and their situation and he had a hard time focusing on anything, especially given the state she had left him in. The Doctor had liked her before, now he downright admired Clara and even though she had agreed to give them a chance he still felt like he had made a huge mistake. Who knew – maybe she was even the one worth risking another broken heart for by trying a real relationship again. Sometime in the future. Not immediately.  
The next morning he got up extremely early and went into the garden to pick a few flowers and came to a halt in front of her bedroom door right as she opened it. Clara stared at him first and then eyed the flowers in his hand curiously.  
“What are those for?” she asked him.  
“You,” the Doctor cleared his throat, “I, erm. . . I think I was a bit of an idiot.”  
“You apologized yesterday.”  
The Doctor held the flowers in her direction. “Not properly, I'm afraid.”  
Clara sighed as she took the flowers from him and smelled them for a moment before she came to look at him again. “How is this going to work? This casual thing? Am I allowed to kiss you? Touch you? What?”  
“You're allowed to do whatever you want. With whoever you want.”  
“Good,” she concluded, “Then I'd like to kiss you now.”  
He chuckled. “You don't have to announce it.”  
“Yeah, but you're taller than me and I was hoping you could bend down,” she stated simply and looked at him with her large, brown eyes so that the Doctor couldn't help but smile as he brought their lips together for a kiss. Clara hooked her arms around his neck and as their kiss deepened the Doctor found himself with the back against the wall and Clara's body pressed tightly against his own, grinding against all the right places. She was so sweet, so small in his arms and he wanted her too much. He had spent the entire time since their encounter in the library wanting her and his need was growing with every moment their lips were locked.  
“Clara,” he said, clearing his throat once she came up for air, “I'm afraid I'm gonna have to stop you right there.”  
“Why?” she asked, a frown appearing on her face.  
The Doctor couldn't help but laugh. “Because you're teasing me and it's not appropriate to go to work half hard.”  
Clara gave a light shrug as her gaze wandered to his crotch. “If we skip the swimming we should have a little time.”  
He swallowed hard as she placed the flowers on the floor and her hands swiftly wandered to his belt and trouser buttons, undoing them before he found the words to protest.  
“Are you serious?” he asked her when she slipped her hand beneath the waistband of his underpants. The Doctor hissed at the contact of skin. “Cause if you're not serious, that would be really, _really_ mean.”  
He was half erect already when her fingers closed around his cock and tugged at him, her hand so gentle that it made him want more and he was rocking against her palm before he could stop himself.  
“Yeah, that really wasn't so nice of me yesterday,” Clara giggled, “But you showed up with flowers, which means you've learned your lesson.”  
“I knew there was a trap in there somewhere,” he moaned when she tightened her grip around him and closed his eyes. He had been a fool to believe that he had the upper hand in this when he started to come apart at the easiest touch by her hand.

But suddenly her hand was gone and when the Doctor opened his eyes again he saw that she was sinking down on her knees in front of him, pulling his trousers down with her.  
“I've never done this, so you have to give me some instructions,” Clara said as she positioned herself right in front of him, staring up at him expectantly.  
The Doctor was almost ready to tell her to just take him into her mouth and do whatever the hell she wanted, instructions be damned. The pure sight of her alone was enough to scramble his mind utterly.  
“Uhm,” he spluttered, “Tongue. Using tongue is good.”  
“Like this?” she asked right before she went to hold him and ran her tongue flat across the underside of his cock and came out swirling around the tip. The Doctor moaned at the warm sensation of her tongue on him and hated it when it ended.  
“Yeah,” he breathed, “Like that. _Mhhh._ ”  
When Clara closed her lips around his tip and moved her tongue around he thought he should have taken matters into his own hand last night after the library. At least he wouldn't be so goddamn desperate for it right now. She let him glide out of her mouth again, leaving him hanging once again as she explored him fully with her tongue and the hand that wasn't holding him steady wrapped around his balls while the blood kept flowing from his brain, making him almost painfully hard.  
“Clara,” he murmured, his fingers curling into her hair, “Please, let me in your mouth.”  
“How?” she asked innocently.  
The Doctor let out a frustrated groan. “Blimey, Clara, I don't care, just do it.”  
Clara giggled before she licked her lips and placed them right at the tip of his cock. The Doctor instinctively pushed forward, breaking through the barrier she had made with her lips and moaned when he was finally surrounded by the hot wetness of her mouth. He was ready to pull out and plunge back into her when suddenly Clara pulled back and the Doctor inhaled sharply, letting his head hit the wall behind him. She had teased him to the point that he felt ready to burst and he really, _really_ craved some form of release.  
“Please,” he begged her, his voice strained in his arousal.  
He almost thanked her when he felt her lips back around him and she was beginning to slowly suck him into her mouth. The Doctor tightened his grip in her hair.  
“Yes, like that,” he breathed, “Just faster.”  
The Doctor couldn't suppress the moan that came over him when she sped up her movements and let him glide in and out of her mouth, using her tongue to rub against the underside of his cock and each time taking in a little more of him. Carefully he started to rock into her mouth, using up all the remaining restraint he could muster not to make her take him all at once even though he wanted to. By now his arousal had almost grown to a burning sensation. It was wonderful, her sweet lips around him, the small sounds she made that told him she liked it, too, but it wasn't quite enough to make him come and he really needed to.  
“Clara,” he whimpered, “Harder, please.”  
“Harder?” she asked, looking up at him as if she had no idea what was going on inside of him, how desperate he was.  
“Gods, Clara,” he panted, trying to find the words to express his frustration and failing. Instead he settled for pleading, “Please, please, I'll do anything you want if you just let me come now.”  
When she sucked him back into her mouth, harder and faster this time the Doctor almost spilled himself inside her out of sheer surprise. Instead he wrapped his hands around the back of her head and guided her movements, slowly speeding up as he fucked her into her mouth. The Doctor started to utter a series of groans as the pressure was building up inside of him and by accident he plunged just a little too deep inside of her and hit the back of her throat, causing Clara to gag around him. He quickly pulled back a little but the sound she had made had almost pushed him over the edge at once.  
“Clara,” he muttered hoarsely to warn her, “I'm coming. I'm-”  
He gave her a chance to pull him out of her mouth but instead Clara only sucked a little harder and suddenly his knees went weak and he was overcome by the waves of a long overdue climax as he released himself into her mouth and Clara swallowed around him.

The Doctor slumped back against the wall, panting heavily while she licked him clean, tasting the last drops of his abating arousal. All he wanted to do was sink down on the floor to where Clara was, hold her in his arms and rest, but instead he pulled her up to his kiss her reddened lips.  
“Please,” he begged her, still trying to catch his breath, “Don't ever torture me like that again.”  
“You seemed to have enjoyed it,” she giggled happily and the Doctor only groaned. He had never even for a second had the upper hand in their relationship. She might be inexperienced but she knew just how to wrap him around her little finger. He already dreaded the day she would ask something of him that normally he would never give but for her he would probably do whatever the hell she wanted.

 

* * *

 

It was early afternoon when Clara made her way to the kitchen when suddenly the Doctor came in through the front door. She turned around in surprise and looked at him.  
“There's a call for you in my practice,” he told her.  
Clara frowned at him. She couldn't really remember giving out the number of the Doctor's practice at all. “Who is it?”  
“Your friend Nina. Wants to talk to you. I don't know, something about your family,” the Doctor explained.  
Clara rolled her eyes while she followed him out of the door and into the other part of the house that was separate from the rest and that the Doctor used as his practice. There was a woman and her little boy sitting in the waiting room and the Doctor told them to wait a couple more minutes before he led her into his office and left her alone to talk to Nina.  
“Yes?” she said as she answered the phone, “What's so important?”  
“Emergency. Your parents know you no longer live with me,” Nina said.  
Clara let out a groan.  
“I'm sorry, but they called five days in a row and I couldn't keep lying and saying you were in the bathroom so I told them you moved. And I gave them your new address.”  
“Nina-”  
“It's not like they're going to visit you. They might send a postcard or a letter and that's it. No reason to freak out. I just thought I should let you know.”  
Clara sighed. It could have been a lot worse. Her parents could have announced that they'd be coming to America and wanted to visit her. She could deal with letters and postcards.  
“Yeah, thanks for warning me. And thanks for trying,” Clara muttered eventually.  
There was a pause before Nina spoke again. “I haven't heard from you at all since you moved out. Is everything okay?”  
A large smile spread over Clara's face even though her friend couldn't see it. “Yeah,” she said eventually, “Everything's great. We need to catch up some time. I have lots to tell you.”  
“So, you and the Doctor?”  
“Yes,” Clara confirmed happily, “Me and the Doctor.”


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so, so, sooooo much for the comments :)  
> You ask for jealousy? Well, here it is. Maybe just not the way you thought.  
> You ask for relationship? Mhhhhh, we'll see about that ;)

Nina stopped by in the early evening and she greeted her friend with a long hug before Clara made them both a cup of tea and they retreated into the garden.  
“You didn't lie about the chickens,” Nina commented when she spotted the flock in the background before turning to face her friend, “Now, tell me everything about you and the Doctor.”  
Clara inhaled sharply and set her tea down on the garden table. “There isn't actually much to tell. It's kind of new.”  
“But he's good in bed, right? Better than your ex?”  
“Nina!” Clara scolded her and quickly let her gaze wander to see if they were really alone. Then she started giggling. “Definitely.”  
“See,” Nina replied, sipping her tea, “I've been telling you. You made the right decision ditching him.”

Suddenly Clara looked up to see the Doctor walk outside into the garden, yawning as he did but upon spotting Nina he suddenly seemed a lot more alert.  
“You're Clara's friend, right?” he asked as he extended his hand, “We met when I picked her up at your place.”  
“That's right,” Nina confirmed with a smile, “I'm Nina.”  
At the mention of her name Amy also stuck her head through the door. “Nina? _The_ Nina?”  
When her friend threw her a questioning glance Clara sighed.  
“Long story, and long game of truth or dare,” Clara explained but it didn't escape her notice how the Doctor looked downright intrigued now and somehow the way he was watching Nina was beginning to bother her.  
“Are you staying for dinner?” the Doctor asked her.  
“Oh yes, you have to stay. I want to hear all your dirty stories from your time together at Oxford,” Amy giggled before she headed back inside.  
The Doctor cleared his throat. “I'll go and help Amy then.”

Clara nodded and as soon as Nina made an attempt to follow them inside she got hold of her arm and dragged her back, further into the garden.  
“I have to tell you something,” she said urgently, low enough so the others inside couldn't hear them, “I haven't really told them the truth about me.”  
Nina knitted her eyebrows. “What is that supposed to mean?”  
“It means that they know nothing about my family or that we went to this insanely expensive boarding school. They assumed I got a scholarship for Oxford and I didn't correct them.”  
Her friend only seemed confused at her confession. “Why did you lie to them?”  
“I didn't lie,” Clara shuffled her feet nervously, “I just didn't tell them everything. I thought they wouldn't want me living with them if they knew I was basically a spoiled brat.”  
“Alright,” Nina eventually agreed, “I'll keep your secret, but you should tell them. They seem nice.”  
“I know, I'm just waiting for the right moment.”

After dinner they settled outside around the fireplace like they often did, chatting and laughing, only now there was Nina and something about her presence bothered Clara and she refused to believe that the only reason for that was the Doctor being incredibly nice to her.  
“How did you two even meet?” he asked Nina, suppressing another yawn.  
“We've known each other since we were children,” Nina replied.  
“Yeah,” Clara threw in, trying not to sound annoyed that he had asked Nina and not her, “We went to the same school and later we shared a dorm room at Oxford.”  
Suddenly Amy laughed. “And since truth or dare we know that wasn't the only thing you shared.”  
Clara snorted. “Ignore Amy. She loves to hear filth and she's blowing our kiss completely out of proportion.”  
“Oh, I don't know about that,” Nina winked at her, “I enjoyed it. But I prefer the story of how we sneaked into the boys' bathroom and stole their clothes.”  
“ _You_ stole their clothes while _I_ was standing guard, thinking you were only in there for a peek,” Clara defended herself, laughing at the memory of it.  
The group suddenly burst into laughter and even though the Doctor suddenly placed his hand on Clara's thigh he turned back around to look at Nina.  
“You have to tell us more about Clara's wild days at Oxford. She always gives off the impression of being a such a lady,” he prompted but this time failed to hold back a yawn. Clara wanted to slap his hand away from her, growing angrier the longer he spoke to Nina. If he wanted to know something about her he could just ask her, not her friend.  
“Maybe some other time,” Nina said, a hint of a smile on her lips, “It's pretty late and I've got work in the morning. But it was lovely meeting you all.”  
“Alright,” Clara concluded and almost jumped up from her seat, “I'll show you to the door. Good night everyone!”  
“You're going to bed already?” the Doctor asked, sounding more surprised than she would have thought.  
“Yes,” Clara almost hissed, “Nina's right. It's late and I'm tired.”  
Another yawn escaped the Doctor's mouth before he eventually agreed. “Yeah, so am I.”  
“Fine, that's settled then,” Clara replied and turned around to say goodbye to her friend.

 

* * *

 

Clara had been lying in her bed for just about five minutes, staring at the pages of her book without really reading it and failing to take her mind off the evening. Even though she had agreed to have a casual relationship with the Doctor and she knew she had nothing whatsoever to fear from Nina, watching the Doctor be so friendly to her friend had been hard.  
A sudden knock on the door interrupted her train of thought and a few moments later the Doctor stuck his head through the door.  
“I thought you were tired,” Clara said and after the Doctor had stepped through the door she noticed that he was already wearing his pyjamas. A part of her instantly got mad, assuming he'd want sex and she was anything but in the mood for that. And yet he was asking for nothing, just standing awkwardly in her doorway.  
“Can I join you?”  
“I'm reading,” Clara replied dryly.  
“I won't bother you,” the Doctor granted her a sheepish smile, “I'll just close my eyes and sleep.”  
Eventually Clara sighed and lifted her duvet at which the Doctor quickly closed the door behind him and joined her under the covers. He settled with his head on the pillow, looking right at her before wrapping his arm around her waist. Clara frowned at him before she placed her book aside and turned in his direction.  
“You actually came here to cuddle?” she asked, the disbelief all too audible in her voice.  
“Why not?” the Doctor asked back, closing his eyes.  
She turned off the lights before finding a comfortable position that allowed her to nestle right in his arms and the Doctor pulled her closer.  
“Cuddling is nice,” he mumbled sleepily, “I like cuddling.”  
“I like it, too,” Clara confessed but he never replied. The Doctor had already fallen asleep.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for the comments <3  
> Now, let's have some drama.

**3 Months Later**

 

_“Dear Clara,_  
_I'm glad to hear that you have made friends in America even though I can't imagine for the life of me why a group of educated adults would choose to share a house when they could afford their own place. If you're only staying with them because you're short on money, your stepmother and I would be happy to help you out. You only need to say the word, okay?_  
_I'm also very happy to announce that my business will soon bring us closer together again. In fact, I am fairly certain that when this letter reaches you, your stepmother and I will already be in California. I've acquired a small company called Shinloa!Inc including their laboratories right outside of San Francisco and I'll be staying there for a couple of months. I truly hope we can see each other, maybe talk about what happened in England. I would love to see where you live and meet your friends. I've included a card with our address. Feel free to visit any time you want._

_Hope to see you soon,  
Your Dad.”_

“Reading anything interesting?” the Doctor asked her as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.  
Clara quickly folded the letter and placed it back inside its envelope. “Nothing,” she lied, trying to sound matter-of-factly, “Just my dad with the same old, same old. You closed your practice early?”  
“Yeah, cause I've missed you,” he breathed upon her neck right before he brought his lips down to taste her skin, leaving a trail of wet kisses while he slowly began to grind against her arse.  
Clara instinctively took a step forward, holding on to the kitchen counter for support. “You're terrible,” she giggled.

“Have you two no shame at all?” Amy asked casually as she came walking into the kitchen, “We eat in here.”  
“Sorry,” the Doctor mumbled and quickly distanced himself from Clara but not without throwing her another sultry look.  
Amy sighed. “No, I'm sorry. You two keep going. I've just had a bad day.”  
“Oh, what happened?” Clara asked compassionately while she took her father's letter and slipped it into her pocket before anyone saw and asked about it. She still hadn't told them a word about her origins.  
Amy took a deep breath and sank down on one of the kitchen chairs before she produced a couple of brochures and articles from her bag. “A local cosmetics company has recently been sold and I've done a little digging into what they do.”  
The Doctor reached out for one of the brochures and started reading out loud. “Shinloa!Inc – all natural cosmetics. What about it? This sounds fine.”  
Clara's heart sank when she heard the company name and felt her dad's letter heavy in her pocket. It was the same company her father had bought and something about it seemed to bug Amy.  
_“They are testing on animals!”_  
Clara only swallowed hard, fearing what Amy might say next. Whatever it was it wouldn't be good.  
The Doctor slammed the leaflet back on the table. “They need to be taught a lesson.”  
Amy smiled at him, biting her lip. “I was hoping you'd say that. Fortunately I already know where their main lab is and it's not far from here. This sounds like another group project.”  
“What kind of group project?” Clara asked warily while the Doctor sank down on one of the chairs next to her.  
“Amy is suggesting that we break in and free the test subjects like we did two years ago at another laboratory like this.”  
“You can't!” the words escaped her lips before she could stop herself. They couldn't possibly break into a lab, especially not one that was owned by her father. Not only would getting caught get them into serious trouble with the company but with the police as well. And her father.  
The Doctor turned around to look at her. “Why not? We've done it before. And you said yourself that you'd like to take part in the protection of the environment. Animals are part of that, especially if they're being abused for purposes like these.”  
“But-,” Clara broke off. She couldn't give them another good reason other than cowardice if she didn't want to tell them the entire truth about herself here and now.  
“We'll wait until the others come home,” Amy suggested, “See what they have to say about it.”

 

* * *

 

As it turned out they had a lot to say about it and not everything was positive. The Doctor and Amy were dead set on breaking into her father's lab and Martha immediately joined in.  
“I don't know,” Rory said after taking a good look at everything his wife had accumulated, “You guys know I'm always happy to support causes like this but a break in seems a rather drastic measure, don't you think? Why don't we spread the word and organize a protest instead? Make _them_ free the animals, not do it ourselves.”  
“Yeah, because that has worked so well in the past,” the Doctor snorted.  
“It's worth a shot,” Rory argued, “I went with you last time we broke into a lab and ever since I've had the feeling that we got really lucky. If we get caught, this is breaking and entering _and_ theft. We could land in prison for real.”  
“We're not going to get caught,” Amy said defensively, “This is a laboratory, not a government facility. Who guards make up at night? No one!”  
“I'd say only one or two of us should actually break in, two others can stand guard to warn the person inside if something happens,” the Doctor suggested, “You don't have to come with us, Rory.”  
“Yeah, you can stay home with Melody,” Martha threw in.  
“Yes, good idea,” Rory hissed sharply and threw Amy a dirty glance, “Cause Melody will need at least one parent not in prison.”  
“What about you, Clara?” the Doctor asked all of a sudden.

Clara shot around to look at him, having so far only listened to what the others had to say about it and now it was up to her. She didn't want to break into her father's lab, she didn't want _them_ to break into her father's lab but not for reasons everyone would assume.  
“I don't know,” she replied eventually, “I really don't know. I guess Rory has a point. Why don't we just let this one go?”  
“Because this is wrong and we need to do something about it,” he said gently and reached for Clara's hand, “You don't have to come with us. I'll go in on my own.”  
“I don't want you to go in on your own,” Clara protested.  
The Doctor sighed. “Amy and Martha will stand guard, I'll go in, open the cages and shoo the animals outside. I'll be out of there in no time. No one is going to catch me, I promise.”  
“I need to think about this,” Clara concluded and rose from her seat.

She made her way to her own room, or rather the room she had been sharing with the Doctor almost every day in the past three months and sank down on her bed. Her sole intention in coming to America had been to escape her past, her family, her old life but now it seemed as if it was haunting her, trying to catch up. Why did they have to break into the one company lab that was owned by her father? Even though Clara didn't believe that they would get caught, the word would surely get around to him and there would be an investigation and what if her father learned what she was doing now? He knew that she was living with people but he didn't know the details. He didn't know they went to protests every other weekend, he didn't know she was living in sin with a man as old as himself. If he did he would probably drag her back to Europe in a heartbeat.  
But her friends were so determined to go and she felt a twinge of guilt when she thought about it because if had been any other lab she would have joined in immediately. Maybe this was the right moment to tell them the truth? Tell them who owned the company? Promise them to talk to her father to end the animal testing? No, they'd hate her for lying to them, especially after recent revelations.  
A few minutes later the Doctor quietly entered the bedroom and granted her a soft smile. “Is everything alright?”  
Clara sighed as she scooted over to make room for him and the Doctor lay down next to her. He reached for her hand again and once more Clara considered just telling him the truth.  
“I don't want you to go alone,” she said after a moment, “But I'm not so sure the whole thing is a very good idea.”  
“You don't have to come with us. I totally understand if you don't want to,” the Doctor lifted her hand to his lips and kissed the back of it, “Or you could wait until we've come up with a plan and decide then.”  
Slowly Clara nodded. Yes, that was what she would do.  
Suddenly his hand was gone from her own and instead wandered to her neck, softly massaging the spot where her neck met her shoulders and Clara leaned further into it. Even though it had been three months and sometimes it felt like they still hadn't completely adjusted to each other, she loved this gentle and attentive side of him.  
“Are you sure that's all that's bothering you?” the Doctor asked after a while, “I know you got a letter from your father today.”  
Sometimes he was too smart for his own good.  
“He wants to visit me,” Clara admitted after a moment. For a brief moment the Doctor's movements froze, betraying his hesitation.  
“Well, let him visit,” the Doctor suggested but suddenly he didn't sound so sure anymore, “We'll clean the house. It's gonna be fine.”  
“You don't know my dad. He'll hate it and beg me to come back to Europe.”  
“Then don't let him visit,” he said in a more cheerful tone as he turned her around in his arms and kissed her lips, “I'm certainly not gonna let him take my Clara away.”  
Clara smiled at his last comment and rested her head against his chest. She was loving her new life here and she was determined not to let her father get in the way of that.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments *tackle hug*

The Doctor cut the fence far enough for him to comfortably slip through, making sure to also open it wide enough for the animals to escape, and turned around to face Clara. She had been reluctant to join them tonight but now that they were about to actually commit the break in he could swear he saw the twinkling of excitement in her eyes beneath her nervousness. Deep down she loved the thrill of doing something wrong for the right cause. He climbed through the fence and extended his hand towards her to help her through.  
“Ready?” he asked, grinning broadly at her.  
As reply Clara let him help her over to the other side of the fence before he spun back around to face Amy. “If you see something suspicious, have Martha honk three times,” he told her and Amy nodded, “If you know we won't make it out without being caught you drive off without us, okay?”  
“ _What?_ ” Clara stared at him in horror.  
“It's just a precaution, Clara, we're not going to get caught.”  
“Good luck,” Amy wished them both before the Doctor took Clara's hand again and they both dashed across the lawn in the direction of the side entrance. Somehow Amy had managed to acquire the plans to the entire building even though she had refused to tell them where exactly she had gotten them from, but it made things a lot easier for them.  
When they had reached the door the Doctor immediately went down on his knees and handed Clara his torch so he could pick the lock.  
“Where did you learn how to do that?” Clara suddenly asked him and the Doctor could hear the smile through her voice, “I don't think they teach you that in medical school.”  
“Not exactly,” the Doctor replied, chuckling, “Impressed, are you?”  
“Maybe,” she whispered at exactly the same moment the door sprang open.  
The Doctor held it open for her and pointed inside. “After you, my lady.”  
Clara cocked an eyebrow at him, which he only just saw in the dim moonlight. “Are you being a gentleman or are you sending me ahead cause I'm the one holding the torch?”  
“Both?”  
Clara giggled before she entered the building and the Doctor followed her on her heels. It was still dark inside despite the torch but he didn't want to switch on the lights inside in case it attracted unwanted attention. He trailed after Clara along a corridor where they passed several small doors on their left and right but according to the plans the main lab, where they held the poor animals, was on the other end of it. 

Sure enough they reached the laboratory doors soon and, after exchanging a glance, pushed them open with combined strength. The Doctor retrieved a second torch from his pocket and illuminated the misery.  
“Unbelievable,” Clara muttered as they stood in front of a row of tiny cages that held no less than twenty rabbits. By the smell of them the cages hadn't been properly cleaned in a while either.  
“Alright, let's get on with it,” the Doctor told her, “I'll hold the lab door open, you open the cages.”  
Clara nodded and bent down immediately, freeing one animal after the other. Most of them dashed straight out of the doors to their freedom, others hopped across the laboratory floor first, sniffing around before they finally sensed the fresh air waiting for them at the end of the corridor. But when Clara had opened the last cage the bunny in it didn't budge.  
“What's up with you?” she asked the animal sweetly, “Come on, time to explore the world.”  
Instead of running away like the others had done it carefully scooted closer to Clara and sniffed her hand.  
“This one is limping,” she said after a moment and to his surprise she was able to lift the bunny up in her arms before she turned around to look at the Doctor, “We can't set it free. It'll die out there on it's own.”  
After the last rabbit had found its way outside the Doctor let go of the lab door and made his way towards Clara who was petting the nervous looking animal.  
“Well, we can't leave it here,” he concluded, “We could put it back in the cage and take it home with us. Keep it with the chickens until it's healed.”  
“Won't the others mind?” Clara asked him carefully.  
“I don't think so,” the Doctor replied and reached out to gently stroke the bunny's fur, “At least Melody will be over the moon.”  
Clara giggled at the thought of it. “Good point,” she agreed, “Alright Limpy, seems like you're coming with us.”  
She bent back down and placed the animal back in the small cage before she closed the door and lifted it up on the table at the centre of the room. 

“So,” the Doctor said after a moment, eyeing her curiously, “What do you think about your very first break in?”  
He could see her smile in the dim light of the torch as she turned towards him, leaning with her back against the table. “Not bad,” she shrugged, “But I'm not exactly planning on making a habit out of this.”  
The Doctor stepped closer, never for a second taking his eyes off Clara. It had been three months. Three months since she had stepped into his life and now, for the first time in decades, he thought that maybe he had finally met his match. What he had told her a while back, about pushing her out of her comfort zone – she did the exact same thing with him. Somehow with Clara he didn't mind holding her hand or kissing her in public or falling asleep in her embrace. Even though he hadn't wanted a relationship, it felt like he was already in one and for once he was enjoying it.  
Clara was different, he had known it from the beginning, he had known that she shouldn't fit into his life but oddly enough she did and the Doctor blamed it on her undying curiosity.  
“Was that honking?” Clara asked suddenly, tearing him from his thoughts.  
“I didn't hear it,” he replied before he bent down and kissed her but Clara gently pushed him away.  
“I don't think we should be doing that here.”  
The Doctor grinned at her in reply. “Oh, I think we should,” he said and lifted her up on the table. Clara growled when their lips met again but she soon yielded to the kiss and hooked her arms around his neck. A sudden thrill shot through his body at the idea of taking her right there on the table. At least it would challenge Amy's hand-job-in-prison story during their next game of truth or dare.  
“I want you,” he breathed upon her lips and parted her legs a little wider, sliding a hand up under her skirt when he suddenly stopped and frowned, “Erm, Clara, I believe you forgot your undergarments.”  
Clara laughed at him but quickly regained her postured. “But here? Shouldn't we wait until we get home?”  
“Or,” he said, sliding her skirt up, “We could create a story for the next truth or dare evening.”  
Clara's lips were upon his before he could say any more and her hands dropped to his belt, unfastening it quickly until the Doctor suddenly heard a strange noise behind his back that he faintly recognized as the cocking of a gun.

“Put your hands up and step away from the table, please.”


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for the lovely comments - and not sorry for the cliffhanger :D

The Doctor didn't regret being caught. A short laugh even escaped him when his trousers slid down his legs in front of the police man, making the entire encounter somewhat surreal, but the gun pointed straight at him reminded the Doctor that it was anything but a laughing matter. The only thing he regretted was that Clara had been caught with him. When the police had allowed him to button his trousers back up they handcuffed both him and Clara before leading them out of the building.  
“Don't worry,” the Doctor whispered as he bent down to Clara's ear, “They'll probably leave us in a cell over night but you'll be fine. Amy knows a good lawyer.”  
“I'm not worried,” she replied but it was all to obvious from the tone in her voice that she was. He wanted so much to take her hand and tell her everything would be just fine but the cuffs prevented him from doing so. Once outside he noticed to his own relief that the car was gone and that at least Amy and Martha had evaded capture by the police.

He had been right of course. Once they were inside the police station he was separated from Clara and thrown in a cell after they had told him questioning would be taking place in the morning. There was nothing he could do now except try to get some sleep and wonder if Clara would be okay.  
When they woke him it was to let him know that someone wanted to talk to him and when the man stepped into his cell and the door was closed behind him the Doctor assumed that it was a detective or a district attorney. At least he could have been judging by the way he dressed.  
“Your name is John Smith?” the man asked him and the English accent should have given away that he was neither a detective nor an attorney but when the Doctor nodded in reply it was the punch in the face that told him he was probably not with any authority.  
The Doctor groaned in pain and raised his hand to his jaw. He had been on the receiving end of worse but right now the confusion he felt only added to his pain.  
“What the hell was that for? Who are you?” he demanded to know.  
“My name is David Oswald and I own the laboratory you were caught breaking into last night.”  
“And do you punch all the intruders or is this some sort of special treatment for releasing the animals you were experimenting on?”  
The man straightened himself up, probably trying to make himself taller in front of the Doctor who was still sitting on his bed. “No,” he replied dryly, “That's the special treatment for violating my daughter.”  
The Doctor furrowed his brows in confusion, not understanding a single word that came out of that man's mouth. “Your daughter?”  
Right as he spoke the words it was beginning to dawn on him. David _Oswald_. The man in front of him was Clara's father.  
“Not only did you somehow convince Clara to commit a break in with you to, how did you put it? To _release the animals we were experimenting on_. No, as far as I've heard you've been caught in an unmistakable situation of intimacy.”  
“Yeah,” the Doctor breathed in reply because he had no idea what else to say and denying it, he realized, wouldn't bring him anywhere. David Oswald already knew everything.  
“Is that all?” Mr Oswald asked him angrily.  
The Doctor shrugged. “What do you want me to say? You already know everything there is to know. Clara is a grown woman, she makes her own choices. Do I feel bad because she was arrested last night? Yes, absolutely. But she wanted to come. I've asked her several times if she was sure about it. I didn't force her to do anything she didn't want.”  
David Oswald stepped forward the Doctor already braced himself for another punch but instead Clara's father took a deep breath.  
“Can I ask a question, too?” the Doctor raised his head. He had no idea why Clara hadn't told him that her father was the owner of the company and there was only one reason he could currently think of. “Did Clara know we'd be breaking into _your_ company lab?”  
“Yes,” her father replied, “It was in the letter I sent her. She must have gotten it last week.”  
The Doctor only nodded and the answer had confused him even more. Why hadn't she told him the truth?  
“If you'll excuse me, I need to speak with my daughter now,” David Oswald said sharply and turned to leave.

 

* * *

 

“Dad!” Clara blurted out once her father stepped into her cell. She had known he would hear about it but she had thought she would have more time to prepare for what she was going to say to him.  
“What the hell were you thinking, Clara?!” her father yelled at her as soon as the door had closed behind him. Clara quickly scrambled into a sitting position but she didn't reply to his question. “What the hell were you doing, breaking into the lab?”  
Clara crossed her arms in front of her chest. “You were testing on animals! We broke in to set them free!”  
He scoffed and apparently needed a moment to gather his thoughts. “You know, I thought it would be wise to give you some space to figure yourself out after you called off the wedding. I thought you'd stay with Nina for a while and then come back.”  
“I won't,” she interrupted him, “I like it here. I've got a job and a nice room, sharing a house with a bunch of lovely people.”  
“And John Smith?”  
“Who?” Clara asked quizzically.  
“The man you were arrested with!”  
“Oh, the Doctor,” she had known that John Smith was his real name but they never used it at home. He was just the Doctor to everyone, “Yes, him, too.”  
“That man is my own age!”  
Clara didn't know what to say. She didn't think there was anything she could say that would make her father understand. So instead she looked down at her own two feet.  
“What do you want, Clara?” her father asked desperately after a long moment of silence.  
Finally she looked back up, her determination slowly returning to her. “I want to stay here. I want to keep living with my friends, I want to be with the Doctor, John, because he makes me happy. I want you to order the company to stop animals testing,” she demanded, “And I want Limpy.”  
“Limpy?” her dad raised his eyebrows.  
“There was one rabbit we couldn't free because it was limping. I wanted to take it home with me,” she paused, “I know what we did was illegal and I will live with the consequences.”  
Her father inhaled sharply and for a moment Clara thought he was laughing. “There will be no consequences. Do you think I'd press charges against my own daughter? I told the police it was a family matter. You're free to go.”  
“And the Doc-, John?” Clara asked and she could see her father's reluctance on his face, “What about John? Can _we both_ go home?”  
After a long sigh her father finally nodded. “Yes, you can both go home.”  
With a soft smile Clara rose from the small bed and went to peck her father on the cheek. “Thanks, Dad.”


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments :) And yeah, your suspicions may have been right

When the Doctor left the station he already spotted Clara waiting for him in front of the main entrance, looking a little nervous. That changed immediately when she saw him and a few seconds later she fell into his arms and pressed and kiss to his lips. The Doctor winced when he was reminded of his painful bruise and immediately pulled back.  
“What happened?” Clara asked, frowning, the concern so clear in her voice as she raised her hand to the bruise her father's punch had left. Even the gentle touch of her finger stung a little.  
The Doctor cleared his throat. “I, erm, I met your father.”  
“My father did this?” she asked, now looking utterly shocked.  
“It's okay,” he replied, taking her hand in his own and leading it up to his lips to kiss it softly, “I'll be fine. I guess he's very protective of his daughter, which I can understand.”  
“Still, he shouldn't have done that,” Clara concluded sternly and suddenly there was a flicker of nervousness crossing over her face again.  
The Doctor took a deep breath. “Why didn't you tell me he owned the company and the lab?”  
“I-” she began but immediately broke off. The Doctor could feel her reluctance all too well and he guessed he was in for a longer story.  
“Hey, I'm kinda hungry,” he said after a moment, “Why don't we go to the diner across the street and you can tell me over breakfast, mh?”  
When Clara nodded the Doctor reached for her hand and together they crossed the street and entered the small diner. After taking a seat by the window and ordering coffee and a large stack of pancakes to share Clara only seemed to grow more nervous until finally she started to speak.  
“I may have left out some details about me when I moved in,” Clara confessed after a while, inhaling sharply, “I thought you wouldn't want me living with you if you knew the whole truth.”  
“Well, you're living with us now. Whatever it is, I doubt it can be as bad so we'd kick you out,” he said, smiling softly at her.  
Again she paused before she spoke. “My family is rich. _Really_ rich. They paid for my education at boarding school and Oxford and my wedding. Whatever I wanted, I only needed to say the word and I had it. I wasn't lying about my mother. She really died during the war and she was a nurse, she loved her job, loved helping people, so that part was definitely true. My father owns several businesses in the UK and in the letter I got last week he wrote me that he had bought Shinloa!Inc and that he'd be in San Francisco for a while.”  
“You could have told us, Clara,” the Doctor frowned at her.  
“Really?” Clara asked, “And you would have let me live with you even though I'm basically a spoiled brat princess? Look at you all! You've all worked so hard for what you have achieved, you're all such free spirits. When I met you I loved that idea but I seemed to be the complete opposite and I was afraid you wouldn't like me.”  
He snorted and gently reached out to take her hand. “You might have copped some teasing from Amy but I don't see why it should matter that your family has money or that you've been raised in a kind of old-fashioned environment. You're trying to live your own life now, you're one of us.”  
Finally Clara nodded. The waitress showed up and set a plate with steaming hot pancakes down on their table, the delicious scent filling the air and reminding the Doctor of how hungry he was.  
“And you could have told us that your father owned the company. Instead of breaking in we could have tried talking to him,” he said as he reached for the top pancake and rolled it up before taking a bite.  
“I'm sorry,” she apologized meekly.  
“Well, he dropped the charges, so I guess it all worked out in the end,” the Doctor concluded after a moment.  
“Doctor, this isn't over. My dad was anything but happy and I doubt he'll leave us alone.”  
He smiled kindly at her. “That's a problem for another day. Let's just eat now, okay?”  
With a sigh Clara nodded and started to reach for the food as well.

 

* * *

 

Clara felt so incredibly tired that the Doctor suggested they should take a taxi home and she leaned her head on his shoulder during the ride and closed her eyes but her mind couldn't rest under the weight of everything that had happened since last night.  
What she had been so afraid of, the Doctor finding out about her origins, had been a complete waste of time and energy because he was fine with it. And from what he had told her Clara didn't think that the rest of them would be too mad either but she knew the weight would only fall from her shoulders once she had told them.  
As for the rest, her father finding out about what she had been up to, about her and the Doctor, that was anything but ideal. He would try to talk her out of it, try to make her come back to England. She just knew it. 

When they arrived at home the Doctor paid the driver and took her hand, almost dragging her tired body inside to where Amy, Rory and Martha instantly came running to the door. And they seemed surprised to see them, to say the least.  
“Oh my God, what happened to you two?!” Martha immediately blurted out when she saw them.  
“Yes! We honked and you didn't come out and then the police came. Did you get arrested?!” Amy asked.  
“We did,” the Doctor confirmed, “And it was a nice reminder as to why I hate prison cells. They've got horrible beds.”  
“How come you've been released already?” Rory wanted to know.  
Clara knew that it was now or never so she grabbed the Doctor's hand a little tighter and took a deep breath. “The company we broke into belongs to my father. He dropped the charges.”  
Amy's eyes widened. “Your _father_?”  
“Yep, made his acquaintance today. And that of his fist,” the Doctor replied, clearing his throat.  
“Sorry,” Clara mumbled before she turned her attention back to Amy, “Yes, my father owns a couple of businesses back in the UK and he bought this company a while ago. I'm sorry, I know I should have told you. I was afraid of what you'd think of me.”  
Amy snorted. “First of all, we could've saved ourselves the break in. You could have talked to him instead about stopping the experiments. I do hope he's stopping them now, right?”  
“I'll make sure he does,” Clara promised.  
“Good,” Amy concluded, “Shall we make lunch now?”  
“Oh, we already ate in the city,” the Doctor told her, “And honestly, I just fancy a nap now. What about you?”  
He turned to face Clara with a smile.  
“Yeah,” she nodded, “A nap sounds great.”

Together they made their way upstairs and Clara didn't even bother with taking her clothes off before she fell down on the bed and the Doctor closed his arms around her in a tight hug, pulling her to lie half on top of his chest.  
“See, I told you,” he whispered after a moment and Clara nestled her head against his shirt, “You had nothing to worry about.”  
The Doctor bent down and placed a soft kiss on her hair.  
“As for your father, I stand by what I said. He's not taking you away from me. You're a grown woman and you can make your own decisions. He has to respect that.”  
“Thank you,” she mumbled sleepily.  
He chuckled. “For what?”  
“Just being you.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you sooooooo much for the sweet comments. You're afraid of angst? Mh, I've got bad news for you then :/

Clara giggled when the Doctor wrapped his arms around her from behind, tickling and distracting her from the task at hand: preparing their lunch. She had gone home early from work today and the Doctor had seized the opportunity to spend his break with her. Yet apparently eating wasn't all that was on his mind. Clara turned around in his embrace and looked at him for a moment.  
“How's the bruise?” she asked him curiously.  
The Doctor smiled. “Better than yesterday.”  
“Good,” Clara replied before she pulled him down by the lapels of his shirt and pressed a kiss to his lips, yet just when she was about to slide her tongue inside his mouth they were interrupted by the doorbell.  
The Doctor came back up, groaning. “Why do they always interrupt us?”  
Clara replied with a sigh. “I don't know.”  
She watched him head into the direction of the door while complaining loudly. “I sincerely hope this is important because we were just about to-”

When the door opened the Doctor suddenly broke off and for some reason no other sound could be heard for a moment. To see what was going on and who was in front of the door Clara peeked around the corner – and spotted her father.  
“Dad!” she blurted out, slowly stepping closer, “What are you doing here?”  
“I, erm,” her father said, pointing to something at his feet and Clara spotted a small cage that surely held Limpy, “I came to drop this off.”  
“Oh,” she uttered.  
The Doctor bent down to pick up the cage and looked inside before turning towards Clara. “We could put it with the chickens for now,” he suggested and Clara nodded, “Okay, I'll do that now then.”  
When he had vanished through the back door Clara seemed to draw her first breath since her father's sudden appearance.  
“You have chickens?” he asked casually.  
“Yeah, we do,” she admitted, her voice cautious, “Why don't you come inside? See the house?”  
Without saying another word her father stepped through the door and slowly made his way inside, looking around and Clara felt as if he was evaluating her entire life.  
“Well, it's certainly big. And bright,” he commented after he had glimpsed the living room and kitchen.  
“These are the rooms that we share,” Clara went on to explain carefully, “The other part of the house holds the Doctor's practice.”  
“He's really a doctor?” he asked, and he sounded a little surprised.  
“Yeah,” Clara replied, “He's from Glasgow originally. Moved here about ten years ago.”  
“Is he nice?”  
She nodded. “They all are.”  
Her father looked around for a long moment, taking in the atmosphere before he sighed. “How many people live here exactly?”  
“Well,” Clara paused, “You've met the Doctor. Then there's Martha. She's in medical school and studies most of the time, only comes out for her room to eat. And Amy and Rory with their daughter Melody. Amy is a journalist and Rory's working as a nurse.”  
Her father furrowed his brows. “A child?” he asked, “They're raising a child _here_?”  
Clara gave a shy, nervous laugh. “Why? What's so bad about it?”  
“Because a child needs a stable home. This,” he looked around but seemed to lose his train of thoughts and eventually turned back to face her, “Would _you_ raise a child here?”  
Apart from the fact that children had never even crossed her mind, at least not as something that might happen in the near future and the Doctor didn't want children and the entire idea of it seemed absurd right now, Clara didn't know what to answer.  
“Why not?” she asked back, “Melody is a bright, healthy, young girl. Amy and Rory are good parents and with the Doctor and Martha and me living here, it's like she's got some aunts and an uncle close by. When Melody had chicken pox the Doctor took some time off work to take care of her. The family isn't just Amy and Rory and Melody, we're all a family. And if that's not a stable home, I don't know what is.”  
Her father exhaled sharply and looked a little lost, so Clara decided to move on.  
“Would you like to see my room? It's upstairs,” she suggested and her father nodded.

He followed her up the stairs and through the corridor where she quickly pointed at the open library door and it was the first time she thought he looked impressed. Clara knew he wasn't an avid reader but he knew that Clara was and that her mother had been and for a brief moment she thought there was a flicker of approval in his eyes.  
“This is it,” she announced as she opened the door to her room, “Sorry for the mess, I haven't had a chance to clean up this weekend.”  
Her father snorted and finally cracked a smile. “You're like your mother sometimes, you know that? She thought a room was messy when there was a book on the floor or a jacket thrown over a chair.”  
He looked around for a moment and somehow she got the impression that his spirits had lifted. “It's a nice room,” he said after a while.  
“I know,” she replied with a smile and crossed the room to point out of the window. Her father followed her reluctantly, “I overlook the garden. There are the chickens and a spot for open fire where we often sit in the evening. And there's the lake where we go swimming in the morning.”  
As she went on to explain Clara became increasingly aware that her father was watching her and finally she turned around to look at him.  
“You really like it here, don't you?” he asked after a moment.  
“Yes,” Clara replied determinedly, “I don't wanna come back to the UK, I don't wanna live anywhere else.”

The Doctor was waiting in the living room when they came back downstairs and almost jumped up at the sight of them, looking utterly nervous as if awaiting a verdict. For a moment the air seemed so thick Clara thought she could have cut it with a knife.  
“I would like to invite both of you for dinner,” her father said after a while and apparently took not only Clara by surprise but the Doctor as well, “Is Friday good for you?”  
Clara opened her mouth to speak but no word came out. Instead she threw a glance at the Doctor who seemed even more taken aback, almost shocked. They weren't even in a proper relationship, something she wasn't keen on explaining to her father right now – or at any other point for that matter – surely the Doctor wouldn't want to attend a traditional Oswald family dinner. But before she had come up with a suitable excuse the Doctor answered for both of them.  
“Friday is fine,” he said and smiled, even though she could tell it was forced.  
“Good, I'll expect you at seven,” her father concluded and granted her a smile, “I'll make sure the maid is cooking and not your stepmother.”  
Well, at least he liked the Doctor enough not to let him suffer through Linda's cooking attempts. Clara took that as a good sign. “Thanks,” she mumbled, “We appreciate that.”

Once she had closed the front door behind her father Clara leaned back against it and took a deep breath.  
“Oh God, I'm so sorry. I'm really, really sorry,” she mumbled.  
Chuckling to himself, the Doctor stepped closed until he came to a halt right in front of her. “What's the matter? What are you sorry for?”  
“My dad,” she said desperately, “That he just showed up here, that I wasn't fast enough in coming up with an excuse for Friday, that you have to go to dinner with me. I'm sorry. If you want to I'll just make something up and go on my own.”  
“It's fine,” he reassured her.  
Clara frowned at him. “ _Really?_ You _want_ to go to a family dinner with my father and stepmother?”  
“If you put it that way, no,” the Doctor said, still smiling, “But I'll live. We'll go to dinner together, make small talk, I'll try not to get killed by your father. It's gonna be fine. _I hope._ ”  
“My father thinks we're in a relationship. He thinks we're a couple. I didn't know how to tell him that we-”  
Clara was suddenly interrupted when the Doctor pressed his lips on her own for a long, soft kiss.  
“It's gonna be fine,” he repeated but his voice wasn't determined enough to really convinced her and suddenly Clara felt his hand around her own, “Now come on, let's have lunch.”  
With a sigh Clara agreed and let the Doctor pull her in the direction of the kitchen.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the lovely comments :) Now, it's awkward family dinner time!

“ _It's gonna be fine_ ,” Clara chuckled teasingly, repeating the words he had used earlier this week while the Doctor became increasingly aware that she was watching his hopeless attempts to fasten his tie through the mirror.  
Another failed attempt later he ripped the long piece of fabric away from his collar and threw it on the floor, muttering curses under his breath. His hands were trembling a little and he rued the moment he had agreed to her father's suggestion to come to dinner. Why had he even done that? He wasn't the type to make a good impression on a woman's parents, he was the type to stay far, far away from any parent, especially since Clara's father already hated him.  
“I like the tie better when you use it to tie me up in bed,” the Doctor mumbled grumpily while Clara bent down to pick it off the floor.  
“Better not mention that to my father. Your bruise has only just healed and a black eye doesn't suit you,” Clara said and laid the tie around his neck, fastening it in a nice knot in a matter of seconds, “There you go. I'll use it to tie you to the bed when we get back.”  
“Promise?” the Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows.  
“Promise,” Clara confirmed with a light smile, “And now let's go. Don't wanna be late.”

 

* * *

 

“Wow,” the Doctor breathed once they had stepped out of the car and his eyes fell on the mansion in front of them. Although _mansion_ didn't seem quite the right word for the _palace_ he was looking at.  
“Yeah,” Clara replied reluctantly, not tearing her gaze away from the house, “Wow.”  
“You said your parents had money but-”  
“I know. This is a surprise even to me.”  
The Doctor cleared his throat. “Is it just my imagination or do the gargoyles look a bit. . . threatening?”  
“It's not just you,” she said in a low voice before the house's spell seemed to be broken and she looked away and straight at him, “Okay, let's get this over with, shall we?”  
Before he could react Clara stepped up to the entrance and rang the doorbell. A maid opened the door and took their coats, leading them into a fancy looking living room where her father and a woman the Doctor assumed was Clara's stepmother were already waiting for them.  
“Oh, good,” her father said instantly, “Now we can eat.”  
“We're not late, are we?” the Doctor asked, even though he knew they weren't. Despite that her father made them feel like they were.  
“No, you're not,” the woman said with a smile as she rose to her feet. She took a few steps in his direction and held out her hand, “I'm Linda, Clara's stepmother.”  
“John Smith,” he replied, “But you can call me the Doctor if you want. Everyone does.”  
“Why?” David Oswald asked blatantly.  
“Uhm,” the Doctor hesitated, exchanging a look between Clara and her father, “I don't know. It's a nickname. Not sure how it started.”  
Clara suddenly cleared her throat. “What's for dinner?”  
“Pot roast,” Linda replied in a friendly manner, “I hope you're not a vegetarian, Mr Smith.”  
He gave a short laugh. “No, I'm a predator,” a soft punch from Clara landed in his ribs. “Carnivore,” the Doctor corrected himself quickly.  
Once more he asked himself why on earth he had agreed to this dinner. He couldn't make a decent impression on her father if his life depended on it. 

The awkwardness subsided a little when they moved into the dining room and were served dinner by the maid a few moments later. The Doctor concluded it would be best to eat in silence while Clara tried to make polite small talk with her parents.  
“Eugene sends his regards, by the way,” her father said after a moment before shoving another piece of roast into his mouth in an attempt to look casual. Although Clara usually referred to him as _her former fiancé_ the Doctor immediately knew who her father was talking about.  
Clara's head shot up. “You're still in contact with him?!”  
“Of course,” David Oswald replied as if it should have been obvious, “He's been a part of our family for years now. He still comes over for dinner once a week.”  
She dropped her fork on the table and her mouth fell open but it took her moment to find the right words. “I left him,” she stated plainly, “Why would you still invite him for dinner?”  
“Because Eugene is a perfectly nice man and just because you decided to cut him out of your life for no apparently reason doesn't mean that we have to do the same thing.”  
“Dave, Clara,” Linda began carefully, “Do you think this is the right time and place for this discussion?”  
“No,” Clara said sternly, not taking her eyes off her father, “But I'm not the one who started it.”  
“Dave mentioned you had your own practice,” Linda suddenly spoke again, her attention now directed at the Doctor. At least she wasn't openly hostile towards him.  
The Doctor swallowed. “Yes, I have. I worked at a hospital while I was still living in Glasgow, but being your own boss definitely has its benefits.”  
“Not the benefit of a steady income,” Clara's father muttered under his breath.  
“Dad, please!”  
“What?” David Oswald looked up, “I'm only stating the obvious.”  
“I make enough money, if you must know. Do you need the exact figures?” the Doctor spat in reply.  
He heard Clara take a deep breath. “You don't need to answer, Doctor. My dad is just being rude.”  
“Yes, the exact figures would be nice, if you don't mind. I just want to make sure you're not after my daughter's money.”  
“ _Enough!_ ” Clara yelled and surprised everyone by jumping up from her seat, “Shut up! All of you! Dad, I don't know why you invited us here except to insult us but I'm certainly not gonna sit here and watch. And I want you to apologize!”  
“Clara, that's not necessary. Let's just leave,” the Doctor suggested.  
“No, it's absolutely necessary!”  
Now Linda rose from her seat as well, looking more than just a little uncomfortable.  
“Clara,” she said calmly, “Why don't I show you the rest of the house while your father apologizes in private, mh?”  
The Doctor watched Linda throw her husband a dirty glance. He didn't want an apology. He understood all too well why Clara's father hated him and all he really wanted to do was leave.  
“Alright,” Clara finally agreed to Linda's suggestion and the two women left the room.

 

* * *

 

“I hate him sometimes,” Clara yelled angrily as soon as they were out of earshot.  
Linda sighed as she walked up the stairs and Clara trailed after her, not really knowing where they were headed. “He loves you,” she said after a moment, “And he wants you to be happy.”  
“I _am_ happy,” Clara insisted, “What he wants is for me to be happy with the things he approves of. I bet he's still waiting for me to move back in and give Eugene another chance.”  
Linda suddenly stopped in front of a room and from the look on her face Clara could tell that that was exactly what her father was hoping for.  
“Never!” she spat, “Not in a million years!”  
“You're his only daughter. He misses you,” Linda explained calmly and opened the door to her left, “When we rented this house he made sure to include a room just for you in case you wanted to come home.”  
Clara shook her head but nevertheless looked inside. There was no doubt this room was meant for her. It looked a lot like the room she had had at their old house in England, bright and romantic with a large wardrobe and an even larger bookshelf. There was even a lovely dress in just exactly her size hanging on the closet door.  
“It's his way of saying that you'll always be welcome to come back. Or if you just want to visit and stay over night. We're going to be here for a few more months.”  
She sighed. “I know that I'll always be welcome but he has to accept that I make my own decisions. And above all he has to accept that I broke up with Eugene and that I'm with someone else.”  
“Clara, you can't be serious about this man-”  
“No,” Clara interrupted her angrily, “Not you, too.”  
“He is old enough to be your father.”  
“I'm leaving,” she announced and turned around on her heels, “I'm not going to spend another minute in this house if all you can do is judge and insult us!”

 

* * *

 

“What was the meaning of this invitation?” the Doctor asked brusquely, now standing up and crossing his arms in front of his chest, “At first I thought you were trying to be nice but that's obviously not the case. I don't care what you think about me. I don't care if you don't like me. But imagine what this evening must have been like for Clara. You could have at least pretended to be nice for an hour to make her happy.”  
Her father raised his eyebrows. “Oh, you care about Clara?”  
“As a matter of fact, I do,” he spat.  
“Then send her home. Clara is a good girl, she was about to get married and have a family with a nice, young man. If six months ago you had told me that I would have to pick her up from prison I'd have called you insane. You can care about her all you like but that won't change the fact that you're a bad influence and that she'd be better off back home.”  
The Doctor opened his mouth to speak but couldn't deny that her father was at least a little bit right. Maybe he was indeed a bad influence.  
“That's Clara's decision to make,” the Doctor swallowed hard, “Not mine. Not yours.”  
Suddenly the door burst open and Clara stormed inside. The Doctor was bracing himself for another fight but instead she walked up to him, reached for the lapels of his jacket and pulled him down to crush their lips together in front of her father and Linda. He tried to fight it but for a small woman Clara was pretty strong.  
“We're leaving now,” she announced a little breathlessly after she had broken the kiss, grabbed him by the hand and pulled him out of the room and eventually the house, too. The Doctor didn't even have the slightest chance to resist. 

“That went anything but well,” he said quietly as they made their way to the car.  
Clara shot around to look at him. “I don't care,” she said angrily, “And it's not your fault. If my father can't act like a decent human being then I want nothing to do with him.”  
“Clara-”  
“No,” she half yelled and placed her index finger over his lips, “Shut up. Just shut up, okay? And now take me home and let me tie you up in bed.”  
The Doctor raised his eyebrows but he didn't dare to say a single word.  
“Do as you're told.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comments, guuuuuuuys :)
> 
> Fear the angst . . . dread the angst. . . feel the angst coming. Some time in the future cause not right now.

Clara slammed him against the door as soon as they were inside her room and kissed him bruisingly, pressing her own body against his and clawing at his hair. The Doctor whimpered when she bit down on his lip and pulled back, taking a deep breath.  
“Slow down,” he panted.  
But Clara had no intention of slowing down tonight. She was fuming on the inside and the only outlet she could think of was him. The feeling of him inside of her was the only sensation she knew that could drown out everything else. Her hands wandered to his chest and tore his shirt open, not caring that one of the buttons came off while she kissed him again.  
“Clara,” he mumbled against her mouth in an attempt to protest but it died down as soon as she palmed him through his trousers and her name came out as a moan instead.  
The Doctor followed her in the direction of the bed without further hesitation, giving in to her kiss so eagerly until he fell backwards and Clara landed on top of him.  
“Clara, you really should-,” he attempted to speak again but she hushed him quickly, straddling his lap, and started to take his tie off of him. She couldn't listen to him now. She was still too angry.  
“No,” she said strictly, using the fabric to tie his hands to the bedpost.  
He winced suddenly as she fastened the knot. “It's a bit tight.”  
“Will you stop talking now or do I have to gag you as well?!”  
There was no reply so Clara decided to pursue her goal and opened his belt and trouser buttons before ripping them down. The Doctor hissed when she grabbed him roughly and it sent a jolt of satisfaction through her body. She squeezed him harder.  
“Ow!” the Doctor yelped, “Clara, stop!”  
“What?!” she spat back at him, “You suggested this earlier!”  
“Yes, I did,” he hissed, “But I never told you to manhandle me like this! I know you're angry but this isn't how you get back at your father!”  
“My father?! You wanna talk about him _now_?!”  
“Yes!”  
Clara scoffed and let him go as she sat down next to him. He was right, of course, she had been too rough. And the fight with her parents was still on her mind.  
“Clara,” the Doctor said calmly, “Untie me, please.”

Knowing that the mood had left both of them Clara eventually sighed and did as he asked but after he had pulled his pants back up she saw the way the Doctor was looking at her, that knowing smile that right now annoyed her even more than it comforted her.  
“What?!”  
“Come here,” he said and held out his hand across the bed.  
“Why?” Clara asked warily.  
“Just do it.”  
Finally Clara complied and the Doctor pulled her over to his side of the bed and pressed a long, soft kiss to her lips. His gentleness was certainly unexpected but not unwelcome.  
“I get that you're mad,” the Doctor half whispered when their lips parted again, “And you have every right to be.”  
She cocked her eyebrows at him. “Why do I get the feelings there's a but coming?”  
“ _But_ you should try to see it from your father's perspective.”  
Clara snorted. “What? You're defending my father now?!”  
She could hear him take a deep breath and a moment passed before he spoke again but his voice was as calm as ever. “I'm defending his motives, not his actions. Don't get me wrong, I don't like the man one bit and I will probably never attend one of your family dinners ever again but you have to try and see his side. To him it really looks like I'm a bad influence and I guess he's right. Without me or Amy or Rory or Martha you wouldn't have been arrested. You would never have thought about breaking into a lab.”  
“It was _my_ decision. None of you forced me to do it,” Clara said defensively.  
“You know that and I know that, too, but your father doesn't. To him you're still the same person that lived under his roof, that was raised properly, that was about to get married to Eugene and have a bunch of kids with him.”  
“I don't want to be that person anymore.”  
The Doctor smiled at her. “He'll come to see that. Eventually. But you can't blame him for wanting to get you to come back.”  
Clara hesitated before she spoke, yet she couldn't help but agree with the Doctor. “You're right. Of course you're right. I'm just. . . disappointed. I thought he was trying to make an effort.”  
“If it makes you feel better, so did I,” the Doctor replied and observed her for a long moment, “So, are you still angry?”  
Eventually Clara shook her head. “No, just tired.”  
Suddenly his arms were around Clara's waist and pulled her to lie next to him. With a sigh Clara settled with her head against his chest. The Doctor cleared his throat as if he was about to say something but then paused for a long while.  
“Uhm,” he began, “You know how you said you wanted to experiment? In the bedroom?”  
“Yes?” she asked back, a light smile on her lips. They had already done quite a lot of that in the past three months.  
“I thought of another thing you might like,” he admitted.  
“Okay,” Clara nodded against his chest and closed her eyes, “Let's try it. But not tonight.”  
She felt the Doctor stir beneath her. “You don't even know what it is.”  
“I trust you,” she said and turned her head to look at him, “And if I don't like it, we don't have to do it again. Just surprise me.”  
He cocked an eyebrow at her. “If that's what you want?”  
“It is,” she confirmed and shut her eyes with a long sigh, “But right now I want to sleep.”  
The Doctor kissed her head softly. “Good night, darling.”

 

* * *

 

The Doctor and Clara had only just come downstairs for breakfast when Rory rushed past them, wearing a more an angry look on his face and a few moments later they heard the door of his room slam shut.  
“What's going on?” Clara asked as she slipped into the seat next to Martha and Amy while the Doctor grabbed the bucket containing the chicken food and headed outside.  
Amy rolled her eyes. “Rory is upset cause Melody asked about the birds and the bees and I told her. He thinks it's too early. I think it would be wrong to lie to my daughter.”  
“How old is she again?”  
Suddenly Amy's face lit up. “Oh, sorry, we completely forgot to tell you. She's turning 6 next weekend and we wanted to have a little party. I hope that's okay with you all?”  
Martha shrugged. “That's perfect for me. My parents wanted to drop Marty off for the weekend. He'll be happy about the party.”  
“Your boy's coming to visit?” Clara raised her eyebrows. She had known that Martha had a son from the very first day but she had never met him.  
Suddenly her friend seemed a little crestfallen. “If my parents don't change their mind. Again.”  
“Well, I'm keeping my fingers crossed,” Amy said, “Would be nice if you got to spend some time with him.”  
“Yes,” Martha agreed, “I miss him. I know my parents are taking better care of him than I ever could but I do feel lonely sometimes.”  
“And it's probably not helping that you're now living with two couples instead of only one,” Amy threw in.  
Clara immediately opened her mouth in protest but Amy was quicker.  
“You _are_ a couple now, right? Officially?!”  
“Not to my knowledge,” Clara admitted and earned a groan from Amy.  
“The Doctor went to a family dinner with you. How much more official can it get apart from a ring on your finger?”  
Clara sighed. “He said he didn't want a relationship.”  
Now it was Martha's turn to laugh. “Honey, you two are in a relationship. And if the Doctor says otherwise he's lying.”  
“Absolutely. You should ask him about it,” Amy prompted, “He hates talking about stuff like that. You have to make him admit it.”  
Clara was just about to reply when the Doctor stepped back inside through the back door and took at seat at the breakfast table.  
“So,” he exhaled sharply, “What were you talking about?”  
When Clara spotted the look on Amy's face she tried to think of something as quickly as possible. She wasn't ready to talk to the Doctor about their status just yet. Maybe because she was still afraid to be rejected.  
“We were discussing whether Melody is old enough for the birds and the bees talk,” Clara finally said with a forced smile and while the Doctor immediately spoke his mind she turned towards her breakfast and hoped Amy wouldn't bring the subject of their non existent relationship back up.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for the comment :)

“Clara, please,” the Doctor whimpered, his voice strained when she straddled his lap again. She loved how he was completely naked underneath her, unable to move with his hands tied around the bedpost and his hard cock was brushing against her skin, stirring the fire inside of her even more than his begging did.  
Clara bent down to touch his chest with her lips, leaving a trail of wet kisses on her way to his nipple. He hissed when she sucked it hard.  
“Yes?” she giggled, looking up at him. Clara was itching to have him inside of her but the sight of him, so aroused, so desperate, she wanted to savour it a little longer.  
“Please,” he asked again, sounding slightly out of breath.  
Clara backed away and looked at his hardened member, head exposed and already leaking. The sight of it sent thrills through her entire body and she bent back down and licked the precum off him with her flat tongue at which the Doctor moaned throatily. He thrust up just a little, obviously hoping for her to show mercy.  
“Beg,” Clara ordered him, smiling as he groaned in frustration.  
Again he released a moan when she swiftly brushed his cock with her tongue, enough to tease him but not enough to satisfy his urge.  
“Please, please, Clara,” he keened, trying to fight against his restraints, “I need you.”  
Finally she crawled back on top of him, taking his cock in her hand and leading it until his tip brushed sweetly against her entrance.  
“Yes,” the Doctor breathed, closing his eyes.  
“On second thought. . .,” she chuckled.  
His eyes immediately opened again, staring at her in horror until he realized she was joking and finally Clara lowered herself on top of him, the feeling of him inside of her as glorious as ever. He was so big that it almost hurt and Clara couldn't hold back the moan that came over her lips when he filled her up completely. The Doctor's head sank back into the pillows but once again he tried to free himself in vain. A part of her regretted that he couldn't touch her in return but that was the price she was willing to pay to have the Doctor completely at her mercy.  
Slowly Clara began to establish a rhythm, sliding up and down his cock while her fingers clawed at his chest and the Doctor thrust up eagerly, now getting the release she had denied him for the last hour. As far as morning workout went this was definitely so much better than swimming.  
She leaned forward just a little and sucked in her breath when the change of angle suddenly made him hit her sweet spot. “Oh my God,” Clara muttered before she could stop herself and the Doctor's movements started speeding up.  
All of a sudden he let out another groan. “Oh, Clara, please,” he begged desperately, “Untie me. I need to touch you.”  
This time she didn't feel the need to protest or torture him further, she was already too far gone into her arousal as well and when she leaned forward and loosened the knot until his hands came free the Doctor swiftly wrapped his arms around her and turned them both over. After he had pressed his lips on her own for a split second, the Doctor raised her legs to rest over his shoulders and plunged back inside of her.  
Clara cried out his name when he hit deep, thrusting hard and working them both towards their climax. She pulled his head down for another, slightly longer kiss and noticed that his hair as already damp with sweat. Both gasped for air when their lips parted.  
“Clara,” he moaned, “I can't hold back.”  
She whimpered when he sank inside of her again with his full length, the sensation burning and Clara could feel the tension ripple through her body.  
“It's fine,” she panted, “Just-”  
Her words died out in a moan as the next thrust sent her over the edge and her walls clenched around him and seconds later she could feel him spill himself inside of her before his movements stopped and his head came to rest on her chest. The Doctor let out a long and satisfied groan.  
“Doctor,” Clara said warily when her eyes fell on the clock.  
He only grunted in reply.  
“Doctor, we need to get up, it's almost 11!”  
“It's Saturday,” he said grumpily and buried his face deeper between her breasts.  
“Yes, yes, I know, it's Melody's birthday party. We promised Amy we'd help her with the preparations.”  
It still didn't seem enough to make the Doctor move. His arms remained around her. “She has Rory,” he protested.  
“Hospital shift. Now get up,” Clara finally ordered him and struggled free from his embrace. Yet he didn't seem to want to let her go as he reached for her hand and pulled it up to his mouth, smiling sweetly at her.  
“One day in bed with you. That's all I want,” he said, kissing the back of her hand.  
“Another time,” Clara promised him, “We'll do that another time.”

 

* * *

 

Clara seemed so lost in her task of watching Melody and Marty play with the bunny Limpy that the Doctor felt almost bad about disturbing her. The other children and their parents had already gone home and he was enjoying the peace and quiet that had settled over their garden again. He liked children, but ten of them at once seemed a little too much even though he had managed to capture their attention for a while by putting on his magician's coat and doing a couple of bad magic tricks that Clara had laughed at him for.

_Clara._

The Doctor felt his stomach twitch a little when he thought about her and it was an almost foreign feeling. He knew that he loved her, he had known for a while now and yet he wasn't quite so sure what she felt for him. Ever since the Doctor had learned about her whole past he couldn't help but shake the feeling that this, living with them, their relationship, was nothing but an experiment to her and he couldn't blame her for it. Clara had been protected all her life and now that she had broken out of her gilded cage she was determined to see the world, try out everything, taste life like it really was. He wouldn't blame her if she decided to move on to something else, or back to her old life one day. The Doctor couldn't think of any other sane reason why at this point she hadn't asked him to make their relationship official. Except that it wasn't what she wanted. It would be fine, he'd find a way to move on. He always did.  
“Hey there, lurker,” Clara suddenly tore him out of his thoughts, giggling.  
The Doctor smiled at her. Even if she was going to leave him one day he was still determined to make his time with her count. And he had already planned out something for her, something he thought she would like to try.  
“Hey, I've been thinking,” he said back as he approached her.  
“About what?”  
The Doctor cleared his throat and lowered his voice so the children wouldn't hear them. “You know how you said you weren't against trying something with a woman?”  
Clara knitted her eyebrows and for a moment she seemed a little confused. “Yeah, I said that. Why?”  
“Uhm, cause last week I called Nina and. . .,” he paused, “And asked her if she would be willing to join us.”  
“What? Like. . . in bed?” Her eyes widened.  
“Yeah,” the Doctor breathed and upon seeing how taken aback Clara was quickly moved on, “Only if you want, of course. I know you told me to surprise you but I still wanted to talk to you about it first. We don't have to do it. I just thought since you said you also liked women and since you already know and like Nina that. . . We don't have to do it. It was just an idea. I thought you might-”  
“Okay,” Clara replied, swallowing hard.  
The Doctor frowned, looking into her eyes that still seemed a little larger than usual. “Are you sure?”  
“Yes,” Clara said, quickly clearing her throat, “Yes, let's do it. Like I said, if I don't like it we don't have to do it again.”  
He granted her a shy smile. “Alright then.”


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so, so much for the comments :D Well, I can promise the angst will come from somewhere. But is this it? Mhhhhh, we'll see ;)

Clara took a deep breath before she reached for the door handle, her hand shaking. She was nervous. Thoroughly and utterly nervous.  
“You can do it,” Clara whispered to herself and when the door bell rang a second time she finally opened to stare right into Nina's face.  
“Hi Clara,” her friend immediately threw his arms around her and normally Clara would have enjoyed it and hugged her back without hesitation but not today. Reluctantly she placed her arm around Nina.  
“Are you alright, Clara?” her friend asked once she had gotten a good look at her face.  
“Sure,” she lied, faking a smile. She wasn't alright. She was about to have a threesome with the man she had been sleeping with for the past four months and one of her best friends. Clara knew that she could have said no but still she had found herself agreeing to the Doctor's suggestion, whether out of stupidity or curiosity she wasn't quite sure.  
Nina cocked her eyebrows at Clara.  
“I'm just nervous, okay?” she said defensively, “Aren't you nervous?”  
“Yes.” Finally her friend giggled and it was the first thing that lightened Clara's mood, making her feel a little less alone.  
“Okay, why don't you come inside and we'll start with a cup of tea?” Clara suggested and led Nina through the corridor.

When they arrived in the kitchen the Doctor had already taken the kettle off the stove.  
“Where's everyone else?” Nina wanted to know.  
“Uhm,” the Doctor paused, “Amy and Rory took Melody on a trip over the weekend and Martha is meeting up with an old friend.”  
“So you two have the house to yourselves?”  
The Doctor handed Clara a cup of tea and she nodded in her friend's direction. The nervousness was creeping back up inside of her. This shouldn't be such a big deal. She really was curious what it would be like with a woman but something about the entire situation felt absolutely not right and watching the Doctor and Nina make small talk made this entire evening seem surreal.  
Clara couldn't help but notice that they both seemed absolutely fine with the idea. Nina had told her she felt nervous but Clara couldn't see it. And the Doctor was the Doctor, friendly and in a good mood, his true emotions unreadable as ever.

After they had all finished their tea they moved on into the living room, the Doctor opened a bottle of wine and Clara was thankful for that. Maybe after a glass or two she would begin to loosen up.  
“Have you ever done it with two people?” the Doctor asked Nina after a while.  
“No, never,” she replied, “And I hadn't actually considered it until you asked me. But why not?”  
“Yeah, why not?” Clara muttered before she downed the wine a little too quickly. She handed the glass back to the Doctor for a refill.  
“Have _you_ ever had a threesome?” Nina asked the Doctor curiously.  
After he had refilled Clara's glass he took a deep breath. “Yeah, once. Ages ago,” he chuckled, “Don't actually remember much. It was a crazy night during my time at Glasgow university.”  
Clara took another large gulp, already feeling the wine going through her head but not helping much with the nagging feeling of doing something utterly wrong.  
“Clara, are you okay?” the Doctor asked her.  
She turned to look at him. “Sure. Why wouldn't I be okay?” Clara answered a little breathlessly before finishing her glass.  
Suddenly the Doctor reached for her hands and took the wine glass from her, smiling softly at her. “How about we all go upstairs?”  
“Alright,” Nina agreed immediately.  
Clara bit down on her lip. It was going to be okay. Everything was going to be fine. “Okay, let's do this,” she said eventually. 

 

The walk upstairs to her room seemed longer than usual and the Doctor held her hand the entire time as if to make sure she didn't turn around and ran in the opposite direction, as if he could feel her reluctance.  
“Are you sure you're okay?” he whispered into her ear so that Nina couldn't hear them, “If you changed your mind it's okay.”  
“I'm fine,” she repeated, this time almost believing it herself.  
When the door closed behind the three of them the Doctor pulled Clara up to his body and bent down to kiss her. She closed her eyes and could feel her heart sink. The Doctor was so wonderful and sweet and he had arranged this for both of them – why couldn't she just go through with it when she had been so eager about everything else he had suggested so far?  
In a whiff of despair Clara reached up, wrapped her hands around the back of his head and pulled him down, deeper into their kiss. She didn't want to let go of him for even a second.  
Eventually Clara had to come up for air and the Doctor used the moment to pull away and reach out for Nina's hand, pulling her closer. When the Doctor bent down to kiss her friend Clara thought she was going to be sick. The heat was rising up, making her head swim and her stomach turned over. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, ignoring the feeling she had finally managed to place. Jealousy.  
Clara was jealous. She didn't want the Doctor to kiss anyone else, let alone go even further and yet she knew she had no right to deny him that. They weren't in a relationship. He could do whatever he liked.  
When Clara opened her eyes again their lips were still touching and she took a step back, not knowing what to do. She wanted them to stop, she didn't want any of this and yet she felt frozen on the spot and her tongue seemed glued to her mouth. All she could do was stand there and watch, powerless while the tears were starting to gather in the corners of her eyes.

Suddenly Nina opened her eyes and looked straight at Clara who couldn't even find it in her heart to look away. And then her friend softly pushed the Doctor away from her, clearing her throat. Seeming a little confused the Doctor looked around and upon spotting the look on her face instantly reached for her hand. Yet Clara tore it away from him.  
“I'm sorry,” she mumbled while the first tear rolled down her cheek, “I can't do this. I can't.”  
“It's okay, Clara-”  
“I think I should go,” Nina remarked carefully.  
The Doctor turned back to face her. “Uhm, should we show you to the door?”  
Nina smiled at them. “No, it's fine. I'll find the way out,” she said and then looked straight at Clara, “Call me when you feel like it, okay?”  
Clara only nodded and waited, relaxing only when she couldn't hear Nina's footsteps any more.

“Clara, you should have said something,” the Doctor reached out to touch her face but Clara backed away. She was crying in earnest now and she couldn't even understand why.  
“I'm sorry,” she sobbed, “I can't do this. I just can't. I'm not like you.”  
She couldn't say what was going on in her scrambled mind but right now she thought that this was it, this was the end of their relationship. She just couldn't go on like this, not if it meant eventually having to share the Doctor with someone else.  
The Doctor reached out and placed his hands on her upper arms, looking straight at her. “Clara, calm down. What's the matter? Please, just talk to me.”  
She sniffed. “I can't do this _free love_ thing. It's not for me. I'm sorry. I tried but I can't. I'm sorry that I'm not. . . _Hippie_ enough for you but this is too much. It's not me.”  
Clara broke out into sobs again when the Doctor pulled her into his arms and hugged her tightly. He felt so wonderful, so warm and safe and she hated that they both wanted so different things.  
“Oh, my Clara,” to her surprise the Doctor chuckled and immediately Clara looked up at him, eyeing him in confusion, “Do you really think that's more important to me than you?”  
“But. . . you said. . .”  
“I know what I said and I changed my mind about that. I want to be with you. Just you,” the Doctor gently cupped her face in his hands and wiped away her tears with his thumb.  
“Why didn't you say anything?” she demanded to know, “Why did you ask Nina for this?”  
“I thought that was what you wanted, I thought you didn't want a relationship, I thought you wanted to experiment,” he defended himself, “I _really_ thought that was what you wanted.”  
Clara reached out and gave him a soft punch into the stomach that sent him stumbling backwards.  
“Ow! Clara?!”  
“I want to be in a real relationship! With you!” she almost shouted, “No other people, no more games, just you and me.”  
Clara watched as the Doctor swallowed hard but eventually a smile spread over his face and before she knew what was happening he had lifted her up and twirled her around the room a couple of times in a spinning hug until she started to feel dizzy.  
When he sat her back down the Doctor was laughing and finally Clara felt like laughing, too. He bent down to kiss her passionately and this time Clara's heart didn't sink but leapt with joy instead.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you soooooooo much for the sweet comments and I'm sorry for those who were disappointed that there wasn't an actual threesome. Hope I can make it up to you with this. Here's a little present for Sahtumy :D

The Doctor fell back into the pillows, panting as he pulled Clara on top of his chest. She smiled against his skin and let her hand wander over it.  
“You don't have to show off anymore, you've already got me,” she smiled sweetly at him.  
He frowned at her. “That wasn't showing off,” he protested.  
“It was a little,” she said before her features took on a more serious expression, “I should probably call Nina and apologize for yesterday.”  
He sighed. The Doctor couldn't help but feel a tiny bit relieved that it hadn't worked out according to plan. At least it had given him and Clara a chance to talk and set things straight. “Probably, yes,” he agreed and suddenly started to laugh, “If it makes her feel better, tell her she's a good kisser.”  
Clara pinched him in the stomach for that comment and he uttered a small ow but luckily she was smiling at him. “No more of that, Mister,” she warned him teasingly, “You're mine now.”  
“And _you_ ,” the Doctor bent down to kiss her, “Are _mine_. Somehow I think I got the better deal.”  
Clara giggled as she struggled into a sitting position next to him. “Alright, time to get up. I'm starving,” she said, “And you should definitely tell Amy about the most recent development. I have this feeling she's going to throw us a party.”  
The Doctor got hold of her hand and pulled her back down for another kiss. “Are you happy?” he asked her after a moment.  
“Very,” she replied, smiling, “You?”  
“Ecstatic,” the Doctor grinned and kissed her once more before both of them finally managed to crawl out of bed.

Clara slipped into her bathrobe while the Doctor only put on his jeans and together they headed downstairs to have breakfast when suddenly he was greeted with a nasty surprise in the shape of an old acquaintance waiting for them at the kitchen table.  
“ _Hello_ ,” the man greeted them with a sultry tone and winked in Clara's direction over his coffee mug.  
“Hello,” Clara replied and when the Doctor looked at her he noticed to his horror that she was grinning broadly at the more than unwelcome guest, “And _who_ are _you_?”  
The man stood up and offered Clara his hand to shake.  
“Don't,” the Doctor growled at him.  
“What? I'm only saying hello!”  
“Exactly!”  
Clara giggled and turned to look at the Doctor. “He's really only saying hello.”  
“I'm Jack Harkness,” he said with a disgustingly large smile and the Doctor had to refrain from groaning in annoyance when he kissed the back of Clara's hand as greeting.  
“I'm Clara,” she giggled.  
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Clara,” Jack said sincerely. The Doctor rolled his eyes. Why did that man have to flirt with every living being on this planet?  
“What are you doing here?” he asked sharply.  
Jack shrugged. “I was travelling, and then I remembered I hadn't seen you guys in a while. Martha offered that I could sleep on the sofa.”  
“For how long? _Ow_ ,” he Doctor was suddenly interrupted when Clara nudged him in the ribs.  
“Doctor, you're being rude,” she whispered and quickly cleared her throat, turning her attention back to Jack, smiling.

Jack grinned back at the two of them. “So, Doctor, were you just making the sex noises on your own or did this gorgeous woman actually take pity on you?” He asked but not without checking Clara out from head to toe.  
“Wait, you heard that?!” she asked in surprise.  
“Clara is my girlfriend,” the Doctor announced proudly and straightened his shoulders.  
Now it was Jack's turn to look really surprised. “Girlfriend? I thought you didn't do relationships? When has that changed?”  
“Yesterday,” Clara giggled and reached out to hold the Doctor's hand.  
“Actually,” he paused, “We've been together for about four months.”  
Clara turned around to face him. “Yeah but we didn't agree it was a committed relationship until yesterday.”  
“Doesn't mean the whole world needs to know that,” the Doctor hissed through gritted teeth.  
Suddenly Clara grabbed his arm and pulled him into the living room, away from the kitchen and from Jack Harkness. When she stopped next to the sofa the Doctor noticed that she seemed a little angry.  
“Doctor, please correct me if I'm wrong but – are you _jealous_?”  
“Pfff,” he snorted.  
“Seriously, cause you act like it and you have no reason to be,” Clara said angrily, knitting her eyebrows at him.  
“You don't know Jack Harkness. Jack flirts with everyone and he's pretty damn good at it. He's so good at it you don't even realize he's flirting.”  
She started to laugh. “So you _are_ jealous.”

Before the Doctor could protest the front door opened and Amy, Rory and Melody stepped inside the corridor.  
“Uncle Jack!” Melody shouted immediately and darted straight past them into the kitchen. When the Doctor glanced around the corner he saw Jack twirling the little girl around.  
“See,” he pointed towards the kitchen, “It's even working on Melody. I'm usually the first person she says hello to. Ungrateful little brat.”  
Clara placed a small peck on his cheek and smiled. “You're an idiot, Doctor.”  
He trailed after her when Clara decided to join the rest of them in the kitchen. Even Martha had now emerged from the bathroom and the Doctor watched grumpily as they all hugged and cuddled each other.  
“You should have warned us you were coming, we'd have prepared a guest bed or something,” Rory said accusingly, “Are you staying for longer?”  
“No,” the Doctor replied for him but no one seemed to pay him any attention at all.  
“Ah, the couch will do. I'm not picky and it's only for a few weeks,” Jack replied, “Besides, I take it the Doctor's new girlfriend is currently occupying the former guest bedroom.”  
Amy turned around to look at both him and Clara, judging their reaction with widened eyes. “Girlfriend?!”  
Clara grinned at her. “Yeah, recent development.”  
“ _Whohooooo!_ ” Amy exclaimed excitedly, “That needs to be celebrated. That and the return of Jack! Tonight, everyone, barbecue and a big fire and Doctor, you need to bring your guitar.”  
“If there's a party I'm in,” Jack confirmed.

Suddenly the Doctor felt Clara's hand wrap around his waist as she snuggled up to his side, giggling softly. “See, I told you she's gonna throw us a party.”  
Still a little grumpy about Jack's appearance the Doctor reluctantly placed his arm around Clara. That man could try for as long as he liked, he would never get his hands on Clara.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments :) You're scared of the angst? Mhhhhh, maybe it's in this chapter, maybe it's in the next. But it WILL come ;)

**2 Months Later**

 

Clara wrinkled her nose when the Doctor held a slice of toast in her direction and she quickly pushed it out of her face.  
“Ew, get that away from me,” she complained and sank back into the pillows before she broke out into another coughing fit. Clara couldn't really remember the last time she had caught the flu and had felt so miserable, she had probably still been a child. And above all she wasn't so keen on repeating it as soon as this was over. Her new job was to blame for all of it, Clara was certain. A couple of weeks ago she had quit her job at the bookshop and had started teaching kindergarten kids and had immediately been met will all sorts of bacteria and viruses. No wonder she had caught something.  
“Clara,” the Doctor said calmly, “I know you're sick but you have to at least eat a little. Trust me, you'll feel better.”  
“What's the point? I can't keep it down anyway,” she said grumpily and hid under her duvet. The daylight was making her eyes hurt.  
She could hear the Doctor stand up and a few moments later the sound of her curtains being closed right before he pulled the covers away from her again. His cold hand landed on her forehead and Clara sighed at the cool, soothing sensation.  
“You've definitely got a fever.”  
Clara rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Doctor. I already guessed that.”  
“Hey, no need to be rude,” he reminded her and upon seeing how hurt he looked Clara immediately felt bad about the way she had been treating him.  
“Sorry,” she mumbled, “But I'm miserable and I just want to sleep until I'm not miserable anymore.”  
She reached for a tissue on her bedside table and blew her nose with it, hardly aware that the Doctor was still watching her intently. She really just wanted to be left alone and sleep.  
“If you don't want to eat, at least let me make you some tea. You need to fluids,” the Doctor whispered and bent down, placing a soft kiss on her forehead.

“I can do that,” a voice suddenly said from the direction of her door and when Clara looked up she spotted Jack Harkness standing over her bed.  
“Thanks but we won't be needing _your_ help,” the Doctor spat back at him.  
“Don't you have a job to go to?”  
“Don't _you_ have to tour the world? Why are you still here anyway?!”  
“Shut up,” Clara croaked, “Both of you. Doctor, you have to go to work.”  
He turned his attention back to her, smiling sweetly. “I will, once I've made you some tea. Can I get you anything else?”  
Clara considered it for a moment.  
“Peanuts. And strawberries,” she replied weakly.  
The Doctor frowned at her. “Peanuts?”  
“Yeah.”  
Still confused the Doctor reached for her hand and to her surprise inspected her fingernails for a moment before he came to look at her again. “You might have an iron deficiency. Are you tired or dizzy?”  
“ _I've got the flu_ ,” Clara replied, groaning, “Of course I'm tired and dizzy. Now can I sleep, please?”  
The Doctor sighed and kissed her hand before he stood up and pulled the duvet up to her chin. “Yes. I'll be back with the tea in a moment.”

Clara didn't even have enough energy to nod and soon drifted off into deep sleep. She woke up briefly when the Doctor left a teapot on her bedside table and informed her it was a special creation of different herbs to help against the flu and that he had added some cinnamon to soothe her stomach. Clara took a couple of sips before she fell back asleep. 

The next time she woke up it was already dark outside and to her astonishment she found the Doctor lying in bed next to her.  
“What time is it?” she asked before she started coughing again.  
“Uhm,” the Doctor glanced at the clock, “Around 7.”  
For the first time today Clara laughed, even if only a little. “What are you doing in bed at 7?”  
The Doctor seemed surprised at her question. “Keeping my sick girlfriend company, of course,” he explained and reached for something on the bedside table before he placed a bowl filled with strawberries between the two of them, “Sorry, couldn't find peanuts but strawberries contain a lot of iron, too. And you really need to eat something.”  
Clara granted him a smile. She did feel a little hungry by now. “Thank you,” she said before she reached for the fruits and stuffed the first one in her mouth, “I hate being sick.”  
“You'll be fine in a few days. Just rest and let me take care of you. And once you've recovered I'll have a look at you to see if I was right about the iron deficiency.”  
Clara, who was nibbling at another strawberry, frowned at him. “What makes you even say that?”  
“Well,” the Doctor paused and scooted a little closer to place his arm around Clara's shoulder, “You asked for peanuts and strawberries, both contain iron. And a deficiency can get worse if you've got a flu.”  
Clara sneezed and swiftly blew her nose in a tissue. “It was just a craving.”  
“Cravings can make sense. Sometimes we crave something cause it contains exactly what the body needs. You know, when a pregnant woman craves chocolate? Cocoa powder contains a lot of magnesium which is needed.”  
“Well,” Clara said, pushing the strawberries out of the way and nuzzling against the Doctor's chest, “I'm not pregnant and I don't think my body needs more iron. It's just the flu. But if you like playing doctor with me I'm sure that can be arranged once I'm back on my feet.”  
The Doctor chuckled and pulled her closer before placing a long, gentle kiss on her forehead. Clara had to admit that she loved how he was taking care of her, how sweet and attentive he was. But then suddenly he cleared his throat.  
“Uhm, a letter arrived for you today,” he said warily, “From your father.”  
She let out a groan.  
“You can put it with the others. I'm not really in the mood right now,” Clara told him before closing her eyes again and hoping he would drop the subject.  
“Clara-”  
“No,” she said sternly, “I _will_ talk to him, I _will_ reply but not right now.”  
“You've been saying that for weeks,” the Doctor reminded her in a gentle tone, “If you don't reply he's going to show up here one day and with Jack living with us right now I think that's the worst possible situation.”  
“What have you got against Jack?”  
“Nothing,” the Doctor replied a little to quickly, “Just that he butts in where he doesn't belong.”  
Clara chuckled right before it turned into another coughing fit. Once she had calmed down again she laughed lightly. “Well, I think he's nice and that you're still jealous. And _I'm_ kinda hungry.”  
The Doctor cocked his head to look at her. “Do you want me to go down into the kitchen and make you some chicken soup?”  
“You know what?” she asked back, “I'll come with you. I need to stretch my legs.”  
“Alright,” he blew the air out of his lungs before he got out of bed and offered Clara his hand to help her up before they made their way downstairs together.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your comments. Hehe. . . you're scared of the angst? Don't be, it's coming anyway. Soooooooooon.

Clara was determined to go back to work. The cold and the general soreness were gone, even though the waning flu was still playing havoc with her appetite but that was nothing she had to worried about while teaching small children. Besides, she was going crazy inside these four walls and the constant bickering between the Doctor and Jack was beginning to drive her insane. She needed a change of scenery or else she might actually murder one of them.  
Clara was shoving her breakfast from one side of the plate to the other when suddenly she felt the Doctor's hand brush her cheek and she looked up to see the worry on his face.  
“What?” she asked, sounding harsher than she had intended to.  
“You still look pale. Are you sure you should be going back to work already?”  
“It's been a week and I'm fine,” Clara lied and reached for her tea, taking a sip to avoid discussing the matter further. She needed to get out of this house or else she would lose her mind. Yet out of the corner of her eye she could see that the Doctor was still watching her.  
He sighed. “You haven't even touched your breakfast.”  
“Well, maybe that's cause it's sausages,” Clara spat angrily, “And I don't eat sausages for breakfast. It's disgusting.”  
Amy, Rory and Martha had prepared breakfast for all of them and once the Doctor and Clara had gotten out of bed they had seen the leftovers and decided not to let them go to waste. Once the smell of the greasy meal had hit her nose however Clara had changed her mind about it.  
“I still think I was right and you should see a doctor about a blood test. You've got the symptoms – you're pale, you have no appetite and, don't lie to me, I think you're still a bit dizzy.”  
“You _are_ a doctor, can't you do it?!”  
“Clara,” the Doctor said carefully and reached for her hand, “You know I only do natural remedies. I don't even have the equipment in my practice to do a blood test. If you've got an iron deficiency I know how to treat it, but I can't determine if that's what's wrong with you. I just want to be sure. I'm worried about you.”  
She tore her hand away and abruptly rose from his chair. A voice at the back of her head told her that the Doctor was only being sweet as always but right now his mothering was only making her angry.  
“There's no need,” she said loudly, “And I will take the blood test if it makes you happy but now I'm going to work. I'm new at the job and I've already missed a week and-”  
Clara paused and took a deep breath, suddenly feeling as if she had run a marathon. The heat was rising into her head, making her even woozier than she had been before. Unfortunately the Doctor hadn't missed that.  
“Clara? Are you okay?”  
She swallowed and tried to breathe. It wasn't helping. With her vision already blurred she attempted to grab the edge of the counter for support but missed right before everything went black.

 

* * *

 

The Doctor caught her before she fell and together they sank to the kitchen floor. He held her head up, softly stroking her skin. To his great relief Clara was already waking up again.  
The Doctor let out a soft groan. “Clara, why can't you just listen to me, mh?”  
She made a small sound and the Doctor decided that the kitchen floor was not the most comfortable spot, so he lifted her up as best as he could, ignoring the stab of pain in his back and carried her to the sofa in the living room.  
“Thanks,” Clara mumbled once he had put her back down, “And I'm sorry.”  
“Don't apologize,” he whispered softly and stretched out his hand to fasten a strand of hair behind her ear that kept falling into her face. All he wanted was for Clara to be well again. The Doctor hated to see her like this and he dearly hoped he was right about his diagnosis. Iron deficiency was easy to fix. But if it was something else, something worse. . . no, he couldn't bear to think about it.

“Clara, if I had known it was that easy to get you into my bed I'd have tried earlier,” Jack, who had now emerged from the bathroom, said in a cheerful tone.  
Clara cracked a light smile but the Doctor immediately shot around, glaring at him. “This isn't exactly a good time to be joking.”  
“It's never a good time to be joking with you,” Jack said grumpily while he made his way past them and into the kitchen.  
The Doctor immediately turned his attention back to Clara and sighed, watching how the colour slowly returned to her cheeks. She'd be fine once he got her to eat something. _If_ he got her to eat something.  
“Okay,” he began, inhaling sharply, “First, you're definitely not going to work today. As a doctor I forbid it.”  
“Accepted,” Clara said weakly.  
“Second, you need to eat. I don't care what. You name it and I'll make it for you.”  
“That's really not n-”  
The Doctor placed his finger on her lips before she could finish her sentence. “It's absolutely necessary. And third, I'm taking you to the hospital to get a check-up.”  
“But your work. You need to open your practice,” Clara protested immediately.  
“My practice can wait,” he said determinedly, “My patients aren't emergencies.”  
“Well, neither am I.”  
The Doctor took a deep breath. “Clara, you can't keep fainting. Next time you might hit your head on something and I won't be at peace until I know you'll be alright.”  
Finally Clara sighed in defeat. “Fine.”  
He bent down and placed a long kiss on her forehead. The Doctor couldn't help it, he loved her so much it almost hurt and he would do anything for her. And Clara didn't even seem to realize it.  
“Okay, now, breakfast. What do you want? Anything, you name it.”  
“I'm not hungry.”  
“Doctor's orders,” he reminded her gently.  
“Fine then,” she paused, thinking, “Toast and jam.”  
The Doctor smiled at her. “Toast and jam coming right up. You stay here,” he reminded her while he rose from the sofa and made his way into the kitchen.

Jack was sitting at the table, munching one of the sausages and for once he didn't look like he was up for a joke.  
“Will she be okay?” he asked quietly.  
“Yes,” the Doctor hissed, “Yes, she will.”  
And the Doctor dearly hoped that he was right.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments :) Are you ready for the real angst to begin now? :)

Even though she thought the Doctor was blowing things completely out of proportion Clara found herself at the hospital a short while later. After she had fainted this morning the Doctor wouldn't have any of her protests and insisted on a thorough check-up. With a sigh Clara had finally yielded.  
After waiting for over an hour a friendly looking, female doctor had called her in and Clara thought that she probably would've waited less had Martha already been a doctor at this hospital. She was asked dozens of questions about how she was feeling, about her medical history, allergies, her menstrual cycle, genetic diseases in her family and Clara's annoyance grew with every question.  
“And you said you had the flu?” the doctor looked at her after she had scribbled something down in her notes.  
“Yes, last week,” Clara confirmed sharply and leaned forward, “Listen, my boyfriend has a medical degree. He said I have iron deficiency – can you just check for that?”  
The woman eyed her for a moment. “Well, you have some of the symptoms. Paleness, dizziness and you've complained about being tired and you're easily irritated.”  
“I am not easily irritated,” Clara spat until she realized that she actually was. She quickly bit down on her lips, “Sorry.”  
The doctor smiled kindly at her. “We will take the test. Iron deficiency is quite common with women for the simple reason that we lose blood every single month. If we don't compensate that through our diet it can happen but it's also easily treated. But I would like to run a few other tests as well just to exclude other possibilities if that's alright with you?”  
“Will it take long?”  
“Not at all. We're just going to take your blood and your urine, I'll examine you and we'll have the results in about an hour,” the woman explained.  
“Fine then,” Clara rolled her eyes, “It's not like my boyfriend will let me leave otherwise.”  
The doctor smiled. “You seem to have a good man there.”  
Finally Clara smiled back, if only weakly. “Too good sometimes.”

Clara let them do all the tests the doctor thought were necessary even though she hated every second of it, thinking them all to be utterly pointless. She was fine. The Doctor was right. She only needed rest and to change her diet.  
“How did it go?” the Doctor jumped up from his seat as soon as she walked back into the waiting area.  
Clara only shrugged. “They took blood and examined me as if I had a diamond hidden somewhere on my body.”  
“Good,” the Doctor concluded and closed his arms around her as soon as she had reached him. She felt him kiss her hair. “Won't take too long until we get the results, right?”  
“They said an hour,” Clara explained.  
She heard the Doctor take a deep breath right before he released her from the embrace and came to look at her. “Alright. Do you want to go for a little walk? There's a small park behind the hospital. Or do you want to go downstairs and get a cup of tea and a snack?”  
Clara considered it for a moment. “Cup of tea sounds nice. Let's do that.”

The Doctor took her hand as they walked down the stairs and eventually settled on a spot in the small hospital cafeteria. Now that her nausea from earlier had abated Clara felt slightly hungry and ordered a piece of cake to go with her tea and she noticed how relieved the Doctor looked when he saw her eat it. He reached across the table to hold her hand a couple of times and Clara was suddenly so, so grateful to have him. The doctor she had spoken to earlier had been right – he was a good man, maybe even the best. Not every man would accompany his girlfriend to the hospital and stay just to wait for the results of a few simple tests.  
“Sorry for being a bit grumpy the last few days,” she said after a moment. Clara hadn't really treated him nicely and she knew it.  
“It's okay,” the Doctor reassured her, “You're unwell. That must be annoying after a while.”  
“There was no need to take it out on you though.”  
The way he smiled at her suddenly made Clara think he was going to tell her that he loved her but then she thought better of it. He was the Doctor and she wouldn't hear these words from him – she had known that right from the beginning. Just because they were now in a committed relationship didn't mean that his initial attitude had changed. And she'd be damned to say the words only to get nothing in return.  
“We should probably go back to the waiting area,” the Doctor suggested after they had finished their food and drink and Clara agreed.

They waited longer than an hour and Clara was beginning to feel restless – and she wasn't the only one. The Doctor was jiggling his leg in the chair next to her, already earning a few disdainful looks from the old man sitting two chairs away from them.  
“Doctor-”  
“This shouldn't take so long,” he growled.  
“I know,” Clara breathed, “But it is and if you don't sit still soon you'll be needing a doctor, too, cause someone will punch you. And maybe that someone will be me.”  
The Doctor turned to look at her and all of a sudden started to chuckle. Clara snorted and suppressed a laugh.  
“Miss Clara Oswald?”  
“That would be me,” Clara muttered and rose from her chair. Before she left she turned towards the Doctor one more time. “I'll be right back.”

The receptionist led her back into the consultation room where the friendly doctor was already waiting for her, a smile on her face. That was a good sign, Clara concluded as she sat down.  
“So, have you determined what's wrong with me?” she asked, exhaling sharply. She could tell from the doctor's expression that it couldn't be bad and a feeling of relief had already settled over her.  
“First of all,” the doctor began, “Your boyfriend was right. You do have an iron deficiency and I will give you a list of foods you should include in your diet to make up for that but there is no need to worry at all. That is quite normal for your current state.”  
Clara frowned at the woman. “My current state?”  
The smile on the doctor's face widened. “Congratulations, Miss Oswald. Our tests have revealed that you are with child.”  
It seemed that for a moment Clara's heart had stopped. Or she had fainted again and was dreaming. Or she had heard the woman wrong. She wasn't pregnant. She couldn't be pregnant.  
“No,” was all she replied after a moment of hesitation.  
“Yes, Miss Oswald, we're quite sure.”  
“What do you mean _quite sure_? Is-, erm, is that a _I could potentially be_ or am I really. . . pregnant?”  
Still the woman smiled kindly. “You're surprised, I understand that. The thought of carrying a child and giving birth can be overwhelming and frightening at first but-”  
“No,” Clara repeated. There was so much in her head that she wanted to say, so many feelings she wanted to express, but they all kept coming back to the one two-letter-word. No.  
“Are you okay?” the doctor asked her, now seeming genuinely concerned.  
“No,” Clara shook her head. She was shaking now and no matter how hard she tried to get herself under control, she couldn't. She was panicking, “I can't be pregnant. My boyfriend doesn't want children.”  
The words came bubbling out of her mouth before she could stop them.  
“He said so from the beginning. Right when we met,” Clara blurted out, “We were so careful. We always used protection. I'm on the pill. I can't be pregnant.”  
She hadn't even realized that she had started crying but now the tears came streaming over her face and she felt nauseous again. The Doctor had told her right from the beginning. No relationship. No children. And even though he had eventually changed his mind about the first part he still had suggested to her to start taking the pill after they had been sleeping together for a few weeks. He didn't want children. How could this have happened? How was she going to tell him? How would he react?  
Clara was startled when she suddenly felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and the doctor was handing her a tissue. She thanked her and attempted to wipe her tears away but that didn't stop them from coming.  
The woman sat down in the chair next to Clara, holding her hand and she still had that smile on her face that had somehow lost its calming effect on Clara. She was about to ruin the Doctor's life with these news.  
“Don't worry too much,” the woman told her in a calm manner, “I know it's a shock and you'll need time to get used to the idea but no matter what you think, it's not the end of the world. You told me your boyfriend has come here with you and he's still waiting outside. I don't know many men who would do that for a simple blood test. He is obviously a kind and good man and he must love you a great deal. When you tell him about the child I'm sure he will be just fine with it after the initial shock.”  
Clara looked up into the doctor's eyes, her mind utterly blank.  
“Would you like a glass a water?”  
After a moment Clara nodded and sank back into the chair while she felt as if her whole world was collapsing around her.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all very much for the comments :) Soooo, you're excited about Clara's pregnancy? Let's see how she feels about it.

The Doctor rose from his seat when he saw Clara approaching the waiting area and for a moment his heart sank. There was something about her that seemed absolutely not right and she looked like she had been crying.  
“Clara, is everything okay?” he asked, the panic all too audible in his voice as he made his way towards her.  
The Doctor placed his hands on her arms and after a long moment Clara finally looked up at him. She swallowed.  
“Yeah, everything's fine,” she breathed. For a brief second he thought she was lying to him but then finally she smiled.  
“Are you sure?”  
“Yeah,” Clara confirmed a little breathlessly and held a brochure in his face, “You were right. Look! List of foods containing lots of iron. I might put on rust if I eat them all.”  
Even though he was looking at the list and Clara was smiling the Doctor couldn't help but think that something was wrong. Something he couldn't quite put his finger on.  
“Clara-”  
“Can we please go now?” she begged him before he could finish his sentence, “I'm still a bit dizzy and the hospital smell isn't making that any better.”  
Finally the Doctor smiled back at her. Clara was fine. He was worrying unnecessarily.  
“Of course,” he said and took her hand in his own.

It was already after noon when they arrived back at home and even though Clara still seemed a bit distracted she swore to him that she was fine and the Doctor decided to believe her. It would take a while for her to get back on track and the flu she had had last week was probably still wearing her down a little so the Doctor decided to take care of her as best as he could.  
“Would you like me to make something to eat?” he asked her once she had settled down on the sofa.  
“No, thanks,” she replied and lifted her feet up on the sofa.  
“Are you sure?” he asked again.  
Clara sighed and to his surprise suddenly started laughing. “Doctor, come here, please.”  
Warily the Doctor approached the sofa and when he was close enough for her to reach him Clara grabbed his hand and pulled him down for a kiss.  
“You're being very sweet and I appreciate that,” she said sincerely, “But I'll be fine. I just need a bit of rest and if I need anything I can't get done on my own I'll let you know, okay?”  
“Okay,” the Doctor replied, smiling at her before he placed another kiss on her lips. 

 

* * *

 

Clara lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the Doctor's arm draped around her. In her mind she was going through everything she had talked about with the friendly doctor at the hospital and slowly the truth of what was happening was beginning to sink in.  
Clara had started taking the pill right after she and the Doctor had started sleeping with each other but around two months ago there had been a few occasions where she hadn't been so quite accurate in taking it. Mostly they had used extra protection just to be sure. Mostly. But not always. And now she was carrying his child.  
The doctor at the hospital had tried her best to calm her, told her about her own first child and how shocked and unprepared she had been and eventually Clara had felt a little better. A few years ago she had wanted nothing more than to have a family but things had changed a lot since then. Clara was leading a whole different life now and she failed to see how a child could possibly fit in there.  
When she heard the Doctor's soft snoring Clara carefully freed herself from his embrace and checked if she had woken him up but he was still sleeping peacefully, completely unaware of what had happened and what was going on inside her head right now. How was she going to give him the news that would change his life forever?

She sneaked out of the room as quietly as possible and walked into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. Her own reflection stared back at her when she leaned against the bathroom door and Clara exhaled sharply.  
“How am I gonna tell him?” she asked herself but the mirror didn't provide her with an answer, “Oh God, why is this happening?”  
Clara sank to the bathroom floor and started crying again. Everything had been so wonderful, too good to be true. Of course it couldn't last. She replayed the conversation they had had at the beginning of their relationship over and over in her head. The Doctor had told her very plainly that he didn't want children. But then again, he hadn't wanted a relationship with her either and now they were a couple. Maybe he really would take it well, maybe he would warm up to the idea. If she eased him into it. She still had at least a month before she would start to show, enough time to find out if the Doctor was still so very against the idea as he had been at the beginning. And if he was. . .

Suddenly Clara heard the door handle move, followed by Amy's voice.  
“I'm almost done,” Clara replied, wiped the tears from her face and quickly rose back to her feet. She took a deep breath before she opened the bathroom door.  
Amy frowned at her. “Are you alright?”  
“Yeah,” she replied, forcing a smile, “Just very, very tired. Good night.”  
“Good night,” Amy replied as Clara made her way back to her bedroom.

 

* * *

 

The Doctor smiled at her over the breakfast table, obviously relieved that she was eating even though she was forcing herself to do it. The morning sickness, that she now knew for what is was, had been hitting her earlier and only now her stomach was beginning to return to normal.  
“You won't go back to work already, will you?” the Doctor asked her after a moment.  
“No,” Clara replied, “In a few days I will but not right now. But hey, speaking of work.”  
“Yes?” the Doctor cocked an eyebrow.  
“Could I use the phone in your practice before you start taking patients?”  
“Of course,” he replied instantly, “Who do you wanna call?”  
Clara cleared her throat. “My dad. You were right, I need to talk to him. If only to let him know I got his letters. I don't want him showing up here.”  
Suddenly Clara felt the Doctor's hand on her own and he squeezed it softly. “I think that's a very good idea.”

 

Clara locked herself in the Doctor's office and reached for the phone. She took a moment to breathe in and out and in again before she finally dialled the number.  
“Hello, this is David Oswald speaking,” he answered the phone and for a second Clara was lost for words.  
What should she say to him? Should she maybe tell him the truth? The entire truth?  
“Hello?”  
“Hey, it's Clara,” she replied weakly.  
Immediately she heard her father utter a sigh of relief. “Clara, I'm so glad you're calling. How are you? Did you get my letters?”  
“Yeah,” she cleared her throat, “Yeah, I got them. Read them, too.”  
“Are you okay? You sound a bit. . . off.”  
Maybe she should tell him. What was the worst that could happen? “I had the flu,” she replied eventually, “I'm better now.”  
There was a long pause.  
“Clara, I'm truly sorry for what happened at dinner. I know I should have tried to understand you instead of. . . well, doing what I did. I take it you and that man are still. . .?”  
“Yes,” Clara said, “We're still together.”  
“Are you sure you're okay? Did anything happen? Do you need help?” her father inquired and again she was tempted to just tell him. But Clara knew what would happen. He would try to convince her to move back to England, that Eugene would take her back despite the child, that she could still have the life he had wanted for her all along.  
“No. I'm fine,” she replied eventually, “I just wanted to tell you that I got your letters.”  
“I'm glad you've called,” he said sincerely, “And if there's anything I can do for you, just say the word. We'll still be in San Francisco for a while.”  
Her eyes were filling with tears again. She wanted help more than anything but her father couldn't help her with this.  
“Thanks, Dad,” she replied, her voice sounding husky through her tears, “I gotta go now. I'll call you again. Bye.”


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all soooooo much for the comments *big hug*

For two weeks Clara had been waiting for the perfect opportunity to talk to the Doctor about the subject of children and yet it had never really presented itself. Instead she had watched him interact with Melody, she had seen how sweet he was with her and it had lifted her spirits a little. Maybe it really wouldn't be the end of the world.  
“Emergency!” Rory almost yelled as he burst into the kitchen where the Doctor and Clara were having their afternoon tea with some biscuits.  
“What is it?” the Doctor asked, looking over his tea cup.  
“I forgot my wedding anniversary.”  
“Oops,” Clara uttered but eventually smiled at him, “What are you gonna do?”  
Rory shrugged. “Make a last minute reservation at a nice restaurant, tell her I only pretended to have forgotten it this morning to surprise her? But we need someone to watch Melody.”  
“That's not a problem. We don't have plans, do we, Clara?” the Doctor turned around to ask her.  
Clara shook her head, smiling. “No. Don't worry, we'll watch her tonight.”  
Rory breathed a sigh of relief. “Ohhh, thank you! I'm in your debt. I had already asked Martha but she and Jack want to go to a thing tonight. Thank you so much!”  
And with that Rory darted off again, leaving Clara alone with the Doctor.  
“So, quiet Friday night in, then,” the Doctor concluded and reached for Clara's hand.  
“Yeah,” she smiled at him, “And you know what I was thinking?”  
The Doctor leaned closer and cocked an eyebrow at her. “What were you thinking?”  
“That tomorrow we could have some quality time of our own,” she suggested, pursing her lips, “Start with sleeping in, a swim in the lake, a nice long breakfast and,” Clara took the Doctor's hand and placed it on her upper thigh, “Spend some more time in bed.”  
“Oh yes,” he half growled before he suddenly bent forward and locked their lips in a kiss.  
Clara had been so unwell in the past few weeks that sex had been completely out of the question but now that she was feeling better she had already started missing him and on top of that the new mixture of hormones seemed to make her especially frisky.  
She moaned as he slipped his tongue inside her mouth and kissed him back eagerly. His hand slipped further up her thigh, the touch making her skin tingle. She had half a mind to let him take her right here in the kitchen. 

They broke apart instantly when they heard someone clear their throat next to them and Clara looked up to see that Martha had come home from work.  
“Kitchen, guys. We eat in here, remember?” Martha winked at them but she didn't seem mad at all. In fact, there was a strange smile on her face that Clara couldn't really place.  
“Alright,” the Doctor said and placed another short kiss on her lips, “I have some paperwork to sort in the office but I'll be back in an hour or two. You know, we could make spaghetti with Melody tonight. Have her do the cooking.”  
Clara cocked an eyebrow. “And you want to eat that?”  
The Doctor simply shrugged in reply. “Can't be much worse than my own cooking,” he said as he walked out of the kitchen.  
Clara giggled before she took another sip from her tea.  
“You two seem really happy,” Martha commented, smiling again.  
“Yeah,” Clara breathed in reply but at the mention of it the light-heartedness had gone out of her and she remembered suddenly that not all was as well as it seemed. Clara still felt as if the sword of Damocles was dangling over her head.  
“Any particular reason?” Martha grinned at her.  
Now Clara look up, frowning. Did Martha know something that she didn't? Had the Doctor said something to her?  
“No,” Clara replied warily, “Why would there be?”  
“I don't know. Just asking,” Martha said and turned around to pour herself a cup of tea as well.

 

* * *

 

“Just keep stirring until you see bubbles,” the Doctor told Melody. The girl was standing on a chair over the oven, stirring the tomato sauce after the spaghetti were already done and she was very eager to do her job well.  
“Like that?” she asked.  
“Yep, that's perfect,” the Doctor replied before he left her to her task and joined Clara by the counter.  
He was utterly sweet with Melody and he seemed to love the girl. Surely he would come to love his own child as well? Clara tried to think of a sensible way to start that conversation. She would have to tell him at some point before it became obvious but she was still scared.  
“Do you want to open a bottle of wine?” the Doctor suddenly tore her from her thoughts.  
Clara looked up at him, a little started. “Oh, no, not for me,” she replied.  
“I bought your favourite.”  
She opened her mouth while her mind was still desperately trying to come up with a good excuse when Melody saved her.  
“I can see bubbles!” she half shouted and the Doctor crossed the kitchen to look at the result of Melody's cooking. He seemed pleased.  
“Well, if that doesn't look delicious I don't know what does. Well done,” he praised her and lifted the pot from the stove, “Let's see if it tastes as good as it looks or if you poisoned us all.”

A short while later they were all sitting in the living room, having their spaghetti that indeed tasted delicious. Clara was relieved even though she was so hungry she though she probably wouldn't have cared either way. If she continued to eat like this throughout the pregnancy she'd weight a ton by the end of it.  
“Can we play something after dinner?” Melody asked.  
Clara, who still had her mouth full, couldn't reply but luckily the Doctor took the initiative again. “Of course, sweetheart, what do you want to play?”  
“Hide and seek!”  
Clara smiled. It was always hide and seek, Melody's favourite game and the Doctor agreed to playing it.  
But when Clara had thought they would eat the rest of their dinner in silence she had been wrong. Instead Melody asked a question that suddenly made her heart beat a little faster.  
“When are you gonna get married and have kids?”  
Clara stared straight at her plate, ignoring how nervous she felt all of a sudden and how the fork threatened to slip from her sweaty palm. The longer the Doctor hesitated the more nervous she grew.  
“Well, Melody,” he began carefully, “Clara and I haven't really known each other for that long. It's a bit early to be thinking about such things. As for children-”  
The Doctor lifted Melody up by her waist and sat her down on his lap, smiling. “Why would I wanna go through the trouble of having children when I can play hide and seek with you, little princess, whenever I want?”  
Melody giggled when the Doctor pinched her cheeks but Clara didn't feel at all like laughing. The Doctor didn't want children, he really didn't and he had just found a perfectly nice way of phrasing it for Melody. What would happen if he knew she was already carrying his child? Would he leave her? Would he stay out of obligation, hating every second of it? Would he maybe even ask her to get rid of it?  
“Clara, don't you like the food?” his voice interrupted her train of thoughts and she looked up, straight into his face. Oh, he had no idea.  
“No, no, it's, erm,” she stammered nervously, “It's good. But I'm full. Hey, how about we finally play hide and seek, eh?”  
“YES!” Melody shouted, jumping up from the sofa, “Clara and I are gonna hide first!”  
The girl grabbed Clara's hand and dragged her out of the living room and once she had found a good hiding spot Clara took a deep breath, glad to be away from the Doctor for a moment. What on earth was she going to do?


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your comments and to make up for the angst I'm putting you through: here's a less angsty chapter :)

When the Doctor and Clara emerged from the lake to join the others at the breakfast table the next morning Jack had an announcement to make. He told them all that the past few months had been lovely but that it was time for him to continue his trip around the world and everyone felt a little sad, even the Doctor, although he managed to hide it well. On Monday morning he would pack his bags and head off.  
“You guys know what this means, right?” Martha asked.  
“Absolutely,” Rory agreed, “We throw him the best farewell party ever.”  
“Guys, you really don't have to do that,” Jack replied but he was smiling proudly.  
Amy got out of her chair and placed her hands on Jack's shoulder. “I'm sorry to disappoint you but with _best farewell party ever_ we just mean barbecue and sitting by the fire as always.”  
“Well, in that case,” Jack smirked, “I'm in!”

They spent the rest of the day hanging around the house, not really doing much at all. Clara had taken her favourite Jane Austen novel outside and read in the warm sunlight. The Doctor had settled next to her at the table, taking a broken radio apart in an attempt to fix it and somewhere in the distance Jack and Melody were having Limpy, who wasn't actually limping anymore, search the garden for fresh vegetable treats. While Amy and Rory went out for some grocery shopping Martha eventually joined the rest outside with her books to study. Clara hardly felt the time pass.  
When Amy and Rory returned in the afternoon Martha decided that she needed a break. “Clara,” she asked, “Do you want to help me prepare everything for the barbecue?”  
“Uhm,” Clara looked up, “What's there to prepare?”  
She shrugged. “I don't know. A few snacks. The hamburgers.”  
“Alright,” Clara put her book aside and rose from her chair. She bent down to place a kiss on the Doctor's head who twitched in surprise because he had been lost in his tinkering.  
“Don't torture the poor radio too much,” she told him before she followed Martha inside. 

Clara began peeling and cutting the cucumbers for the salad, nicking a piece here and there to eat, Martha started out preparing the mince.  
“So,” she said after a while, “Have you told the Doctor yet?”  
“Told him what?” Clara asked, not even looking up from her task.  
“About the baby.”  
Clara dropped the knife and immediately shot around, looking at Martha and trying to figure out how on earth she could know about her pregnancy. What had given her away? Had the others noticed it, too? Oh God, what if the Doctor noticed?  
Martha smiled at her. “I was asked to sort some files at the hospital. I saw yours,” she explained, “At first I didn't want to say anything. I thought you'd tell us but it's been over two weeks. Sorry, I'm just curious.”  
Clara inhaled sharply, for a moment too lost for words. Instead of replying she sank down on the kitchen chair.  
“Clara? Are you okay?” Martha suddenly looked worried as she sat down on the seat next to her, “I'm sorry if I said anything wrong, I really just-”  
“I don't know how to tell him,” Clara blurted out, sounding more desperate than she would have thought, “For two weeks I've been thinking about how I'm going to break it to him but I don't know. I just don't know. He keeps saying that he doesn't want children and I feel like I'm ruining his life and. . . and-”  
Clara broke off when Martha suddenly placed her arms around her, hugging her tightly and it felt good, so good to finally be able to talk about it. For a moment Martha just held her without saying a word.  
“He's gonna be fine,” Martha eventually whispered into her ear, “The Doctor is complicated but his heart is in the right place. He loves you.”  
Clara broke the embrace to look at Martha. “Does he? He's never said it. Not once. All he said to me was that he doesn't want children. Repeatedly.”  
Martha suddenly frowned at her. “Clara, if you're considering _not_ having the baby-”  
“No,” she immediately shook her head, “That is not an option. I'm having this baby with or without him.”  
“You need to talk to him. Soon. You're a first time mother, I'm guessing you'll have less than a month before you start to show.”  
“I will,” Clara confirmed, “But I need to ease him into this, break it to him gently. But you need to promise me you won't say anything.”  
“Of course not,” Martha said.  
“No, promise me,” she urged, “I need your promise. You want to be a doctor, you're obligated to secrecy!”  
Martha smiled at her. “I promise I won't tell him,” she said, “But you still need to talk.”

Even though Clara had been shocked to realize that Martha knew her secret she felt a lot better after talking to her about it because Martha was right about one thing: the Doctor's heart was in the right place and even though he might not love her, he at least cared a great deal about her. Maybe even enough to raise this child with her. In time she would tell him but as she looked around the little group, singing and laughing around the fire she decided that it wouldn't be tonight. Tonight they would celebrate.  
The Doctor sat next to her, his hand on her thigh and once in a while he leaned closer to whisper something naughty in her ear that made her giggle before he turned back towards the group and laughed or sang with them. He was so happy and she would have been happy as well, hadn't it been for the secret she was carrying around inside of her. At some point Amy lit a joint before she started passing it around, making everyone laugh even sillier than before and the Doctor took a long drag as well before he passed it to her.  
“Oh, no, thanks,” Clara shook her head, “Not really my thing.”  
The Doctor shrugged, handing it back in the other direction before he turned towards Clara, looking at her with all the seriousness he could muster.  
“You don't seem in the mood for a party,” he noted.  
For a moment Clara considered lying but the Doctor knew her too well to believe her. “I had hoped for a private party,” she said, smiling. It was what they had originally agreed upon.  
Before she could react the Doctor pulled her closer and she landed on top of his lap. With both their weights Clara thought the chair might break apart under them as he pulled her down for a long, passionate kiss. His tongue on her own and the thought of it exploring other areas of her body sent shivers down her spine.  
“Let's make it private,” he suggested once he broke the kiss, staring at her through hooded eyes.  
Clara bit down on her lip and smiled. “Okay.”  
She gave a surprised squeak when he lifted them both up and kept holding her up in his arms even when he was standing.  
“I'm sorry,” he said loudly towards the group, “But Clara has told me she's very tired and needs to go to bed immediately.”  
Clara burst into laughter. “Lunatic,” she said lovingly.  
“She doesn't look tired to me,” Jack intervened, a smirk on his face.  
“Oh, but she will be,” the Doctor winked in his direction right before he put her back down.

Together they vanished into the house and almost ran upstairs. As soon as the door has closed behind them Clara found herself with her back against the door and the Doctor on top of her, kissing her roughly while she hooked his arms around his neck. Oh how she had missed him these past few weeks, how she had missed his touch that could make the heat flare up between her thighs in a heartbeat. He rubbed his own body against hers shamelessly and Clara found herself moaning into his mouth when she felt his arousal so close to her own.  
Suddenly the Doctor stopped to look at her, a wide smile on his face.  
“What's wrong?” she asked him.  
“Nothing,” he replied, “I wish it could be like this forever.”  
“What?” Clara giggled, “You, me, utterly horny and about to jump each other?”  
The Doctor laughed but shook his head. “Happy,” he said sincerely, “Everything about my life is so perfect right now. I want it to stay like that forever.”  
“I think you're just stoned,” she commented, amused.  
“And I think you said something about being horny,” he replied before he bent back down to kiss her. His hands fumbled under her skirt, pulling her knickers down while his mouth left hers and went on to nibble at her throat instead.  
Clara gasped when he slid a finger between her already wet folds and she immediately arched her hips forward, desperate to satisfy the itch that had started building up.  
“Well, you weren't lying about that,” he commented, a hint of amusement in his voice.  
Clara gave a frustrated moan when he removed his finger. “Less talk, more action,” she commanded before she grabbed him by the lapels of his shirt and crushed their lips back together. She was vaguely aware that he opened his own belt and trousers and suddenly his hands were on her waist, lifting her up.  
She wrapped her arms and legs around him for support when he pressed her harder against the door and just moments later she felt the tip of his erection brush against her entrance. With a long and throaty moan she sank down on top of him, revelling in the feeling of him inside of her before he removed himself from her and plunged right back inside, this time harder. The Doctor was beginning to pick up pace, his breathing fast and ragged on her skin as he buried himself inside of her and Clara clawed at his hair. She tried so hard to suppress it and yet she couldn't help but whimper as he brushed her sweet spot each time. The Doctor groaned on top of her, his thrusts quick and needy and threatening to catapult her over the edge at any moment. He lifted her up, changing the angle before diving back inside.  
“Oh God,” she whimpered breathlessly before she could stop herself as her orgasm came crashing over her, her muscles pulsing and tightening around him and just moments later she could hear him moan her name. His movements slowed and he released himself inside of her.  
The Doctor set her down carefully, still panting as he did.  
Clara swallowed. “We have a bed, you know?” she said, laughing.  
“Beds are for round two,” he said teasingly and took her by the hand. Together they stumbled backwards until they fell into the soft cushions, their breathing still audible, “Just give me. . . a half hour or so.”  
With a sigh Clara rested her head on his chest.  
“See, that's what I was talking about,” he said after a moment, “Everything is just perfect.”


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry for the mixup with chapter 33 :O

“Damn,” Clara muttered under her breath as she was trying to force the zip of her skirt up and yet it wouldn't close all the way no matter how hard she tried. All the jumping and tugging did nothing. Over a month had passed since she had learned of her pregnancy and now she was slowly beginning to panic. Clara still had no idea how she would tell the Doctor and he had already noticed her “weight gain”, of that she was sure. A couple of days ago, when they had been lying in bed, he had caressed her tummy for quite some time. He must have noticed. Clara couldn't hide it for much longer.  
Suddenly the door burst open and Clara startled up when the Doctor stuck his head through the crack in the door.  
“Hey, Amy has some news downstairs,” he told her.  
“Oh my God, can't you knock?!” Clara snapped at him before she could stop herself.  
The Doctor frowned. “Sorry.”  
“It's okay. You just took me by surprise,” she said quickly, “Sorry. What's that about Amy?”  
“I don't know. She hasn't said anything yet. We're waiting for you.”  
“Alright. I'll be downstairs in a minute.”  
The Doctor nodded before he retreated back into the corridor and Clara exhaled sharply. She had to do something and she had to do it soon but every time she had come close to telling him she had chickened out again. They were so happy, _he_ was happy, always going on and on about it. And she was about to ruin everything. He didn't want children, that much was obvious. The real question was: would he stay with her despite everything?

Clara eventually grabbed a different skirt from her wardrobe, one that still fit, and headed downstairs where the Doctor, Amy and Rory were sitting around the kitchen table. Through the door she could spot Melody playing with their bunny in the garden.  
“Where's Martha?” she asked, taking a seat.  
“Visiting her parents over the weekend. She'll be back on Monday,” Rory explained before he turned towards Amy, “Okay, wanna tell us why we're here?”  
Amy placed her hands on her hips. “There's a protest this afternoon. Remember when we first took Clara to a one?”  
They all nodded and Clara felt a knot tightening in her stomach. She remembered it all too well, especially how it had ended with them getting attacked with water canons. This wouldn't be good.  
“Same company, same cause. They're finalising their negotiations about the wildlife refuge and so the company is pushing to build their factory. I know a bunch of people who are very, very angry about that. This protest is gonna be even bigger than the last one.”  
“And hopefully it'll do something,” the Doctor added, “It's not just about the refuge. Remember the farmers that were at the protest last time? I can understand why they're angry.”  
Amy grinned at him. “So you're in?”  
“Absolutely!” the Doctor confirmed.  
Rory raised his hands in defeat. “This you can do without me. It was crazy enough for my taste last time.”  
Clara suddenly reached for his arm. “Doctor, do you really think this is a good idea? The protest already turned violent last time. They will only be angrier now. What if something happens?”  
She understood why he wanted to attend the protest, if it hadn't been for her pregnancy she would probably have attended it, too, despite the danger. But she had more than herself to worry about now – and so did the Doctor, even if he didn't know it yet.  
“I've been arrested before. I can take it,” he argued, “But you can stay here with Rory and watch Melody if you don't wanna come.”  
“It's not about being arrested,” Clara raised her voice without even wanting to, “You could get hurt.”  
The Doctor knitted his eyebrows. “Are you saying you don't want me to go?”  
“Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying!”  
“Why?” he snapped back, “Did your father buy that company, too?”

Clara took a deep breath and now noticed that Amy and Rory were carefully rising from their chairs. A few moments later they had left the kitchen, leaving her alone with the Doctor to settle their argument.  
“No,” she replied as calmly as possible, “My father does not own that company. I don't know why you're bringing this up now.”  
“Because you're acting weird,” he raised his voice a little, “And from my experience it usually involves your family when you do that. In fact, you've been acting weird for a few weeks. I wasn't going to say anything but trying to tell me what I should and should not do goes a bit too far, especially when it's about something as important as this.”  
“I'm worried, that's all! I don't want you to put yourself in unnecessary danger!”  
“Unnecessary?” the Doctor yelled, “Clara, if the plans for that factory go through it will hurt the wildlife refuge, the environment and it will affect the harvest of the farmers living around it! It's anything but unnecessary!”  
“How is that _your_ problem?”  
The Doctor snorted and suddenly rose from his chair. He was angry now, properly angry. But so was Clara.  
“That is something that should concern everyone, not just me or Amy or Rory or those who will go to the protest today. It should concern you, too! Greedy people are ruining this planet and you just want to stand by and watch? I'm sorry, I can't do that. I didn't know that bothered you until now but it's who I am!”  
Clara opened her mouth to speak but no words came out.  
“And I thought you were just a little bit like me, like us.”  
“I am!” Clara argued.  
“Then why are you causing a scene right now?!”  
She took a deep breath and slumped back in her chair. Looking at the Doctor she knew he was right. He hadn't changed a bit since she had met him. He was this man who would go out and seek trouble to stand up for what he thought was right even if it meant getting arrested or getting himself hurt. And Clara admired him for it. She shouldn't try to change that about him.  
“Doctor, what are we doing?” Clara asked him, her voice hardly a whisper.  
“We're fighting,” he growled, “It's what happens on occasions when you're in a relationship.”  
For a moment neither of them said another word. The Doctor stared at his own two feet and Clara just looked at him, trying to figure out what to do.  
“I'm gonna join Amy at the protest,” he said after a while and turned around to leave the kitchen. 

Despite feeling horrible about their first real fight Clara couldn't help but think that he was right about everything he had said to her – but she couldn't admit that unless she was ready to tell him about her reasons. As much as it hurt her she had finally come to a decision.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys for the comments :)))) Oh? What? You wanted Clara to tell the Doctor? Well, we'll see about that ;)

The Doctor came home, feeling utterly miserable about what had happened with Clara earlier. The entire ride home he had thought about how he was going to apologize to her, what he was going to say and how he was going to make it up to her. Clara had been worried, he shouldn't have yelled at her for that. All he wanted to do now was to close his arms around her and kiss her but to his surprise he found the living room and kitchen empty. The Doctor walked out into the garden with Amy following him on his heels but found only Rory and Melody.  
“Where's Clara?” he called across the lawn.  
Rory looked up at him and after a moment he shrugged. “I don't know. I haven't seen her in a while. Maybe she's in her room or the library?”  
The Doctor nodded in reply and turned around to head back inside, ignoring Rory's question about how the protest had gone. Amy could tell him all about it. He needed to apologize to Clara. However when he passed the library it was as empty as the rest of the house so he tried the room they shared. Nothing.

Nothing except an envelope lying on their bed. 

The Doctor rushed forward, grabbed the envelope and tore it open, revealing a long, handwritten letter.

_Dear Doctor,_  
_I am sorry I couldn't say these things to your face. Call me a coward if you like, because that's true, but I was afraid that if we talked I would grow weak again and let you change my mind. When you read this I am already back at my parents' house because that's where I belong and anything else would be a lie. You were right, I am nothing like you and even though I admire you all it doesn't change the fact that I've never really belonged. I tried to be more like you but it was never me. People don't change like that._  
_I'm going to miss you terribly, Doctor. In fact, I'm missing you already and I'm not even gone yet but I know it's the right thing to do and in time you'll come to see that, too. We want different things out of life, you and me, and it would never have lasted long. So I'm leaving before it gets even harder to say goodbye._  
_Please, don't feel guilty about the fight earlier, that wasn't the reason why I made this decision. I had considered it for quite a while now. None of it is your fault and you have nothing to feel bad about. I loved every second I spent with you and I would never do anything differently. But the sad truth is that you belong in your world as much as I belong in mine, so I'm setting you free before we hurt each other even more._  
_Don't come to see me, don't try to change my mind. Just go on doing what you've always done and be amazing._

_Clara_

The Doctor sank down on their bed and re-read the letter a couple of times, trying to understand what was happening. He had known it though, hadn't he? He had known that Clara would eventually leave him and move on to something else. But that didn't make it any easier. He loved her. He loved her and he had never said it.  
What was he going to do now? Listen to Clara, move on, try to forget about her? How could he? The first woman in decades that he had truly loved, that he had loved enough to throw his caution over board and agree to a relationship.  
Should he go against her wishes and fight for her? Drive to her parents' house and beg her to come back? Five minutes ago he had wanted nothing more than to throw his arms around her and now that urge had only grown. He needed to make her come back.

 

* * *

 

Clara had cried the entire taxi ride to her parents' house and even now that she was standing in front of the mansion the tears just wouldn't stop. She knew she had made the right decision for all of them. The Doctor could continue to live his life like he had done for decades, he would forget about her and move on and she would get to raise the baby in a stable and safe environment. But even though she knew it was right it hurt like hell.  
When her father opened the door he looked more than just a little shocked and surprised.  
“Clara? What's wrong, darling?” he asked her but Clara didn't reply. Instead she threw her arms around him in a tight embrace and never wanted to let go.  
“My baby girl, what's the matter?” her father said kindly as he closed his arms around her, “Did something bad happen?”  
“I need your help,” she sobbed, her face buried in her father's jacket, “You were right. I'm in trouble.”  
Carefully her father led her into the living room where she slumped down on the sofa, the tears still falling mercilessly. Would they ever stop? She ignored her father's hand on her shoulder, she ignored the tea the maid brought her moments later and she ignored that Linda glimpsed inside the room before she left them alone again.  
Eventually her father handed her a tissue. “Why don't you tell me what happened?”  
Clara sniffed at looked up at him. “I'm pregnant.”  
He was shocked, that much was obvious, but to Clara's surprise it didn't seem like he was mad at all.  
“Does the Doctor know?”  
Clara shook her head wildly. “No and he never will. He doesn't want children and I left him.”  
“Good,” he replied.  
Clara raised her eyebrows. “ _Good?_ How is that good?”  
David Oswald took a deep breath. “Linda and I are flying back to England on Monday. We'll get you a ticket, we'll take you with us. We're going to raise this baby at home, Clara, don't you worry about it for a second.”  
She only nodded, not knowing what else to say. She had known from the beginning that her father would help her. It was the right thing to do.  
“I will speak with Eugene, too. If you want to, and only if you want to,” he went on, “Maybe he will still take you back.”

Suddenly they were interrupted by the door bell and Clara jerked up.  
Her father frowned. “Linda, are you expecting someone?”  
“No,” came the reply from the next room.  
“That's the Doctor,” Clara almost yelled in panic, “Please, if that's him, send him away. I can't see him right now.”  
Her father nodded calmly and rose from the sofa to make his way towards the door.

 

* * *

 

The Doctor jumped nervously from one foot to the other before he rang the door bell a second time. He clutched the bouquet of flowers tighter in his hand when the door finally opened and he stared right into Dave Oswald's serious face.  
“She doesn't want to see you,” he said coldly.  
“I know,” the Doctor said breathlessly, “But I broke the speed limit all the way here and I brought flowers and I really, _really_ need to speak to your daughter.”  
“ _She doesn't want to see you_ ,” Clara's father repeated slowly, “How else can I say it before you understand that you need to leave her alone?”  
“Five minutes,” the Doctor almost begged, his voice desperate, “Just give me five minutes and if she still wants to send me away after that I'll leave her alone. But please, _please_ , give me that.”  
David Oswald crossed his arms in front of his chest. “No.”  
“I love her,” he blurted out, “I know you don't approve of me and you don't have to but you need to know one thing about me. I don't say these words. Ever. But I'll say them to Clara every day for the rest of my life if you only let me see her for five minutes!”  
Her father cocked his eyebrows at him and for a moment the Doctor thought he had managed to convince him.  
“So,” David Oswald went on, “You would marry my daughter? You'd raise and care for her children? You'd buy her a nice home?”  
The Doctor took a deep breath and for a brief second he considered just pushing this man out of his way and running inside. But he'd never find Clara in this labyrinth of a house.  
“I don't know,” the Doctor yelled back at him, “But I need to speak with her!”  
David Oswald looked at him for a long moment, obviously considering his response and the Doctor prayed it would work in his favour.  
“No,” her father eventually said and slammed the door shut in front of his face.

 

* * *

 

“Did he go away?” Clara asked her father once he had walked back into the living room.  
He nodded. “Did you hear what he said?”  
“No. What did he say?”  
Her father shrugged. “Nothing.”


	34. Chapter 34

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, very, very sorry for yesterday's confusion but at least it gave you two chapters to read instead one :D And thank you all for the comments!!!
> 
> Now, enjoy the next chapter while I enjoy your panic :D

Clara was lying on her bed, staring at the ceiling and feeling her tummy with her hands. It was a strange thought, knowing that a new life was growing inside of her and she wondered if she would ever get used to it. She also wondered what the Doctor was up to now. Since his visit on Saturday evening she had heard nothing from him and a part of her knew it was a good thing. He would move on with his life and forget about her eventually and he would never know of their child. And yet another part of her had hoped he wouldn't give her up so easily, that at least he would try to fight for her.  
A knock on the door tore her from her daydream and Clara looked up to see Linda stick her head through the door.  
“You haven't packed yet?” she asked in surprise, “We're leaving for the airport in an hour.”  
“I have nothing to pack,” Clara said, looking back at the ceiling, “All my clothes are still at the house.”  
“Alright,” Linda concluded, “We'll just write them and tell them to send your things back to England.”  
“Yeah,” Clara breathed absent-mindedly.  
“Your father spoke with Eugene on the phone this morning,” Linda said after a moment of silence, “He'll pick us up at the airport. And he's looking forward to seeing you again.”  
“Does he know about the baby?”  
“Yes, he does,” she confirmed, “He said you can talk about everything when you're back in England.”  
When Clara didn't reply Linda closed the door behind her and left her in peace. In an hour she would fly back to England. She would be far, far away from the Doctor and far away from the happiest moments of her life.

 

* * *

 

The Doctor ate his breakfast without real appetite but there was no use crying about Clara when she clearly didn't want to be with him. He kept telling himself that he had known this would happen from the beginning, that it couldn't have gone any other way and yet it still hurt. He had hardly slept the past two nights alone in their bed and every time he had managed to fall asleep he had woken up again, confused as to why the bed next to him was empty until it had dawned on him again. Clara was gone and she wouldn't come back.  
“Doctor, are you okay?” Amy suddenly asked, her voice kind and full of concern.  
He looked up and saw the worry on her face. “Yes,” he lied.  
“It's okay if you're not,” she told him, “We all know that you loved her. It's okay to admit that you're hurt.”  
“Well, yes, I am hurt but I'll be fine,” he said sharply, glaring at her over his coffee, “But it's not like I hadn't seen it coming.”  
“Are you gonna try to talk to her again?” Amy wanted to know.  
The Doctor set his mug down. “Absolutely not! I'm not crawling up to her father,” he paused, “She left me and she doesn't want to see me. I'm going to respect that.”  
“I think you're being stupid.”  
“Well,” he spat, “I think that's none of your concern at all.”

They both turned their heads when the kitchen door opened and Martha stomped inside, looking weary and annoyed.  
“I'll never visit my parents ever again,” she complained, dropping her bag on the floor and falling down on a chair, “I have never met such mean, judgemental people in my entire life!”  
“Why?” the Doctor asked, glad to be able to change the topic, “What happened?”  
“Never mind _me_. Why are you both looking so glum?”  
“Clara left him,” Amy answered before the Doctor could divert the subject back to Martha's family and he growled in response to that.  
“ _What?!_ ” Martha asked in shock, “Why?”  
The Doctor rolled his eyes. “Can we please talk about something else? She just left me okay? I came home and found a letter saying she had gone back to her family. That's it.”  
Still Martha seemed too shocked to let the matter go. “Have you talked to her?”  
“No,” the Doctor growled. He wanted to change the subject. He wanted to talk about anything but Clara right now, “But I talked to her dad and I'm not keen on repeating that. And if you'll excuse me, I have a practice to run.”  
He rose from his seat when Martha suddenly grabbed him by the arm, staring at him with wide eyes. “No, Doctor, you don't understand. You need to talk to her!”  
“I've tried! She doesn't want to see me! End of discussion!” He tore away from her grip and was already halfway out of the kitchen when Martha yelled after him.  
“Clara is pregnant!”

He heard the words but he couldn't quite grasp their meaning. Slowly he turned back around to look at Martha who had also risen from her chair and was looking a little uncomfortable now.  
“ _What?!_ ”  
“Yeah,” Amy added and leaned a little closer to Martha, “What?”  
Martha bit down on her lip, now looking utterly nervous. “I'm sorry. I told her to talk to you but she obviously didn't.”  
The Doctor frowned at her, still trying to comprehend what was happening. Clara. Pregnant. No, it didn't make sense.  
“How long has she known?”  
“Over a month,” Martha confessed eventually, “Clara found out at the hospital and she didn't know how to tell you. I read it in her file by accident. She asked me not to say anything to you.”  
Over a month. She had known over a month and she hadn't told him? Why hadn't she told him? Was that why she had left?  
“Doctor?” Martha tore him from his thoughts, “Clara was scared, she was terrified! She thought you wouldn't want the child.”  
“But that's nonsense,” he mumbled, still lost in his thoughts. Had she really left him to raise the child on her own? With her parents' help? Why on earth would she do such a thing?! Clara was pregnant. He was going to be a father. Oh God, he was going to be a father.  
“Doctor!” he heard Amy's voice and looked up, “Martha is right. You need to talk to her.”  
“Yes,” he breathed absent-mindedly and reached for the car keys lying on the counter, “Yes, I will.”  
And then he broke out into a run.

 

If he had broken the speed limit the last time he had driven to her parents' house he was disregarding it even more now, pushing the pedal of the car down until it hit the floor. Clara was pregnant and she hadn't told him. Why hadn't she told him? What had made her think he wouldn't want their child? What had made her think she couldn't trust him with this? He was going to be a father and he had no idea how that worked. Once he had talked to Clara he needed to ask Rory. But first he would get Clara back. The Doctor didn't care about her father, he would punch him like he had punched the Doctor on their first meeting if necessary and push him out of the way but he would talk to Clara. He would get her back and nothing and no one would stand in his way.  
He arrived at the house only a short time later and dashed up to door. Ringing the door bell a couple of times he waited impatiently for someone to open. When within the first minute nothing happened he repeatedly rang the bell until finally someone answered. The Doctor stared straight into the face of a strange woman.  
“I'm sorry, you're a bit early. The viewing starts in a couple hours,” she told him, a friendly smile stuck on her face.  
“What?!” the Doctor asked in confusion and a little out of breath, “I'm here to speak with the Oswalds. Clara Oswald.”  
“Oh,” the woman uttered, “You're a bit late. You missed them.”  
He took a deep breath, trying to get his nervousness under control. “What do you mean I missed them?”  
“They're flying back to England today. They left for the airport over an hour ago.”

The Doctor's heart sank. Clara was flying back to England with her parents. He had missed her. Maybe she was even on the plane already.  
Breathlessly he stumbled back to the car and got inside. It might be too late already but he would never forgive himself if he didn't try.


	35. Chapter 35

“Clara, are you sure you don't want to eat anything?” her father asked her before he checked his watch again, “This might be your last chance to grab a snack.”  
“I don't want to eat,” she spat angrily, “I just want to be left in peace!”  
Every time her father or Linda opened their mouths to speak Clara felt like she was going to explode. She had only spent two days with them and she was already going insane. They had said Eugene would take her back, well, if he really did she would make him buy them a house far, far away from her parents so she wouldn't have to see them. And later she would find a nice way to get rid of him, too. Clara didn't want to get back together with him, not in a million years but she didn't see how she could raise this child on her own. She needed support of some kind, at least for a little while.  
When the speaker announced that their flight was due to depart Clara rose from her seat. This was her last chance to change her mind.  
“Are you okay?” her father asked her and gently placed his hand on her shoulder, “Are you nervous about the flight?”  
“No,” Clara breathed in deeply. She had made her decision days ago. This was the only way. “I'm fine.”  
Her father smiled down at her and started leading her in the direction of the gate.

“ _CLARA!_ ”  
She immediately shot around when she heard her name and for a moment she couldn't believe her eyes. It was the Doctor. The Doctor was running towards her across the hall, shouting her name and that big, idiotic grin stuck on his face that she loved so much.  
Her mind told her that it was wrong, that it would just make everything worse but her legs wouldn't listen. Never in her entirely life had she been so happy to see someone as she was about seeing him right now. Her feet were moving in his direction before she even noticed it. It didn't matter that he didn't want the child, it didn't matter that maybe she would still have to leave him but right now she wanted nothing more to throw her arms around him.  
Clara broke out in tears when he lifted her up and twirled her around in a spinning hug, holding her as if he never planned to let her go ever again and she buried her face in his jacket, crying and smiling at the same time. Even if it was just for a moment, right now she had her Doctor back.  
Once they had come to a halt the Doctor cupped her face in his hands and bent down to crush their lips together even though he was completely out of breath.  
“Clara! The plane is leaving!” her father's voice made them break apart but neither of them moved. Instead she kept staring at the Doctor.  
“Clara,” the Doctor said, still panting from the run, “Remember what I said to you? That nothing is gonna take you away from me? I'm not going to let you fly off to England.”  
She swallowed hard. She needed to tell him. This might be their last chance. “Doctor-”  
“I know,” he said breathlessly, smiling, “Martha told me. I know. I've been thinking on my way here. We've shared your room for the past few months anyway. We could repaint mine and make it the nursery. We still have Melody's old cot in the basement or I could build a new one. And-”  
“Doctor,” she interrupted his babbling, “Stop. What are you saying? I thought you didn't want children. You said that several times.”  
He shrugged, that still smile on his face. “I didn't want a relationship either and here I am, begging you to be in one with me. Please, just come home.”  
Clara raised her eyebrows at him. In the distance she could hear her father calling her name again.  
“Please,” the Doctor begged her, “I love you.”  
Her eyes grew wider as she looked at him saying these words. “You love me? Why have you never said anything?”  
“Because I'm an idiot,” he said simply and before he could say any more Clara went up on tiptoes, wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again.  
“Clara, we really need to go! They've called out our flight the third time,” her father said behind her.  
Only reluctantly Clara let go of the Doctor but she remained staring at him. “I love you, too,” she whispered right before she turned around to her father.

He looked as if he was already suspecting the words that she was about to say. “Sorry Dad, but I'm not going. I'm staying here.”  
With a sad, knowing smile her father nodded. “Well, if you change your mind-”  
“I know,” she confirmed.  
After taking a deep breath David Oswald looked at the Doctor for a long moment. “You'll take care of her, right? _Good_ care? And with that I mean she won't end up in prison again or get into trouble. And the baby, you'll take care of that, too?”  
“You have my word.”  
“Clara is my daughter. And once that child is born,” he pointed at Clara, “You will know what I'm talking about. If you make Clara unhappy, I swear-”  
“Dad,” Clara interrupted him, shuffling a little closer to the Doctor.  
“Fine,” her father said eventually and spread his arms. Clara stepped forward to hug him goodbye.  
“Tell Eugene I'm sorry,” she whispered into his ear, “For everything. Tell him to go out and find himself a string of pretty, young women. He's a nice man, one of them will see that.”

Once they had finished saying their goodbyes and the Doctor and Clara had watched her father and Linda head towards the gate he took her hand in his own and together they slowly walked towards the exit of the airport.  
“Are you really okay with this?” Clara asked after they had walked for a while, “With becoming a father, I mean?”  
The Doctor started to laugh. “Yes. But is it okay if I'm a little scared?”  
Clara turned around to smile at him. “Absolutely.”

 

**The End.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig cyber hug*  
> Thank you all so much for reading this story, for giving kudos and above all for taken a moment to write a comment here and there! It means so much to me to know that you all love my stories!!!
> 
> Tomorrow I will start posting "The Man That Once Was" which will have four chapters and after that I will finish the sequel of my PirateAU. When that is done I will start on my next longfic, which is gonna be a post-Hell-Bent-Whouffaldi-baby-fic with lots of fluff and humour just cause I need a change :D I don't know when I'll start posting it cause I'm still in the planning stages, so stay tuned for that!


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